Megaman The Zero Saga 1: Return of a Warrior V2
by eclipse2012
Summary: Lyra Matsurba is new to the world of netbattling. With the legendary netnavi Zero, whom she received on her birthday, she embarks on a mission to not only stop the terrorist organization World Three, but also to uncover the truth behind the seemingly coincidental death of her parents. Will she succeed in her quest for answers, or will she get more than she bargained for? REWRITTEN!
1. Ch 1: The Revival

**Eclipse: Okay, I've decided to go back and re-write this story after I got a PM from SubZeroChimera. For those of you who think Lyra is in fact a Mary-Sue, I apologize for making her appear to be one. This will hopefully make her seem like less of a Mary Sue and this version of the story will be in third person. I don't own Megaman in any way at all but I do own my OC characters. Now, I do believe it's time this story got on the road.**

**MM The Zero Saga: The Return of A Warrior V2**

**Chapter 1: The Revival**

**It's the year 2000X and everything is connected.**

A young girl dashed down a city block. She looked no older than fourteen and she had long glossy brown hair that went down to the middle of her back. She had forest green eyes that gleamed like emeralds and were flecked with small traces of brown around her pupils. She wore a white spaghetti strap shirt under a black sleeveless vest. She also wore a jean skirt that stopped at least two three inches above her knees. A brown belt was secured in the belt loop of her skirt and a holster for some sort of device was attached on her hip. She wore white leggings under the skirt and black boots that came up to her knees. Black fingerless gloves with were the only things she wore on her hands. A navy blue over-the-shoulder backpack was the only item she had with her, and she carried it with ease. The girl came to a screeching halt at a stop sign and bounced on the tips of her toes as she eagerly waited for the signal to change.

_Darn it! I'm going to be late! _She thought in alarm.

**Technology has advanced so much that it's like the world lives in a video game.**

The light changed and she charged across the street and towards a large school on the next block. She jogged up to the entrance and glanced at the building from afar.

_Okay, first day of school in a new place. No pressure or anything. Not. _She bit back her nervousness and took a deep breath to calm herself. She silently walked past the front iron bar gates with a ghost of a smile present on her lips.

**There aren't hover cars or anything like that of course. It's simply that computer technology has advanced so far in just the past decade.**

The girl entered the school with her breath held. She could feel the glances of many other students burning into her and it made her flush red in embarrassment.

_Please quit staring. Please, please, please quit staring! It's only my first day and I'm already getting more attention than I'd like. _The girl thought distastefully.

**PETs, short for Personal Terminals, are a worldwide device that everyone has. They're hand-held and portable with many useful apps and programs.**

The young girl quietly shuffled through the hallways to her homeroom which was room 8-A.

_This must be the place. _She thought with an air of finality.

She faced the door and paused uncertainly before she turned around to face the hallway. _I can't do this. Wait, what the heck is that on that guy's screen?_

Her forest green eyes nail on a young boy holding a sky-blue PET. The boy was talking to a person on the screen, but it wasn't through video feed. The "person" laughed along with its friend and the boy continued walking as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Her hand unconsciously wandered to her own PET which was secured in her belt holster.

_Man, I wish I had a customized netnavi. _She thought sadly.

**Perhaps the most amazing technological achievement was the creation of netnavis. Netnavis are AI programs meant to surf the net and assist humans in everyday activities. Netnavis are not servants but-more often than not-faithful partners and friends to their human counterparts. In this case, the human partner of a netnavi is known as netops.**

She turned back to the door.

_Well, no time like the present! _With a final breath of reassurance, she pushed the door open and stepped into the room. Standard desks were lined up in rows in front of a particularly large white board and desk. Students and netnavis mingled amongst one another, talking and going about their lives normally.

_Okay, stay cool, don't get noticed, and make it through first day of school. Sounds simple enough. _

She tip-toed over to an empty seat and sat her bag down next to her new desk. She pulled her PET from its holster to face a gray standard netnavi. She sighed, wishing that she had a cooler netnavi like the rest of her new classmates. She jacked her navi into the school mainframe and got out a sketchbook and a pencil and began to draw until class started.

**The cool thing about netnavis is that they have the ability to be customized. Navis can be customized by their netops to act or look a certain way. Netnavis and netops oftentimes are the best of friends and those friendships generally last a lifetime. Unless a navi gets deleted, they have undetermined lifespans.**

Just as she'd finished her sketch, the teacher walked in and cleared her throat. The girl looked up in alarm and shoved the pad back into her bag quickly. The rest of the students returned to their seats and jacked their navis into the computer system for the day. The girl once again felt a pang of jealousy in her heart as she wished that she too has a customized partner. The teacher stood behind her desk and wrote a name on the board in Japanese characters. While she couldn't read what it said, the girl knew what it said.

It was her name.

"Good morning class!" the teacher chimed comely.

"Good morning Mrs. Isabel!" all the students-minus the girl- chorused in return.

The teacher smiled to the class warmly. "Well, today we have a new student joining us from overseas!" the teacher's gaze feel on the girl, who was doing her best to appear smaller than she was, "Can you please come up in front of the class and tell us your name young lady?"

**Another new thing that had popped up with the netnavis was the fine sport of netbattling, where navis fought against each other for sport. No navis were deleted in the fights and both netops and netnavis found it to be a fun way to grow stronger. Battle chips are special chips that are used during a netbattle to make navis more versatile and powerful during the fights. They could increase a navi's strength, speed, accuracy, and many other factors that play into who wins and loses a battle.**

The girl nodded and stood up. She walked to the front of the class with her head tipped downward. She could feel the gazes of her fellow students bare into her; almost as if they were trying to learn everything about her just by looking at her. Once she was standing in front of the teacher's desk, the teacher smiled and gave her an approving nod. She took a deep breath and exhaled, ready to properly present herself.

"My name is Lyra Matsurba and I'm thirteen years old. I'm from America and I have five siblings. It's nice to meet you all," she said shyly.

There were many approving nods and whispers from her classmates.

"She's from America? Cool!" one whispered.

Another of the students, upon seeing her nervous fidgeting, whispered to his friend. "What's up with her? She's got no reason to be nervous."

One of the students on the front row looked to her dreamily. "She's kinda cute."

One of the students raised their hand. The teacher spotted this and called upon the student.

The student stood, revealing them to be a young girl with silver hair and storm grey eyes. She looked to be about Lyra's age and height.

"Yes Alicia?" The teacher asked.

Alicia-apparently that was her name-boldly asked Lyra a question. "You're the granddaughter of Dr. Nathaniel Matsurba, one of SciLabs's top scientists, right?"

Lyra nodded stiffly. "Yeah, my siblings and I live with him."

"You live with him? Why don't you live with your parents?" Alicia asked in confusion.

"Well-,"

The teacher basically threw Lyra a life jacket; metaphorically, of course. "Alright, that's enough questions for now! Lyra, why don't you go take your seat and we'll start class, hm?"

Lyra nodded and walked back to her seat. Alicia sat back down and smiled at her warmly. _I have a feeling we'll be good friends Alicia. _She thought. Alicia nodded at her and they both turned their attention to the teacher, who'd begun to teach their daily lesson in science.

And so class droned on until three, when the bell rung high pitched and clear.

_Wow, that's a whole lot louder that the bell back home. _Lyra thought.

She quietly collected her things and jacked out her navi who greeted her with a simple "good afternoon" before reading off a list of reminders for her. Lyra slipped her PET into her holster and slung her bag over her shoulder. She strode out of the room and into the hallway before silently walking down the flights of stairs to the ground floor with the vast number of other students. She walked out of the school in a wave of students, unable to stop even if she wanted to. The students began to disperse to either talk or go their separate ways a few meters from the door. Finally free from the current of students, Lyra was about to make her way home when a familiar voice called her name.

"Lyra!"

She turned around and saw a shape jogging towards her. The easily recognizable silver hair gave away who it was immediately.

_It's Alicia! _"Hey!" she waved to the other girl.

Alicia waved back. She jogged up to her and bent over panting.

"You're Alicia right?"

Alicia smiled. "Yeah. It's good to know that you remember my name."

I nod in agreement. The two girls began walking out of the schoolyard and they were outside the brick walls in a matter of moments.

They hadn't even gotten to the corner yet before Alicia asked a question.

"So why don't you live with your parents? You were about to say in class but the teacher cut you off. Can you tell me?" she inquired.

_I might as well tell her. She has a right to know. It doesn't really matter anyway. _"Well, two years ago, my mom had gotten cancer and was sent to the hospital for treatment. My dad didn't live with me and the only thing I share with my siblings is a common mom and dad. My dad worked on the west side of the country at the time and two of my five siblings lived with my mom and her husband a.k.a. my step-dad. I lived with them too, but my step-dad was killed in a factory fire and then my mom died in the hospital due to cancer a few months later. After that, I found out that my dad had died in a car accident on the way to his job one morning three months after the death of my mother. The police assumed he was drunk when he died."

Lyra paused in order to let Alicia absorb all the information she'd just spurt out. She looked over to see Alicia staring at her with wide eyes and both hands over her mouth. She sighed and continued her tragic tale. "I oftentimes think that the death of my parents was set up. When the government came and got us all together, I told them that my dad's family was either dead, too old to take care of us, or not right in the head. I then told them that I had a grandfather who lived overseas in Japan who could take care of us. I was quite close to him and he often came to visit me. So it was decided that we would move in with him."

Lyra finished her story, her voice close to breaking. Alicia didn't speak. But then again, how could she? She didn't know what to say.

"Lyra I'm so-,"

"Don't."

Alicia blinked in confusion. "Don't what? Give you my condolences?"

"Don't pity me. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's being pitied. So don't start, okay?"

Alicia nodded. "Okay. Hey, is that your house?"

After all the talking the two girls had done, they'd reached Lyra's house. Her house was two stories tall and a pathway cut straight through the front lawn to the door. The house was white but had blue and grey accents in places, such as the shutters and deck railings above the front pavilion.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Lyra asked.

"I saw a ton of reporters here on the news one day and they showed his house, so I recognized it easily."

Lyra nodded. "Oh. That makes sense."

Alicia smiled at her. "So I'll see you tomorrow after school?"

"Yeah, you can count on it," the other girl smirked.

Alicia waved and sprinted off further down the road, leaving Lyra standing in her front yard alone staring after her new friend dumbfounded.

_Okay idiot, quit standing there looking like a fool and go inside! _Lyra mentally yelled at herself. She walked into the house and locked the door behind her.

*Elsewhere*

A scientist stood in a large, spherically room. He had dark brown hair and a pair of small glasses sat on the bridge of his nose. Scientists sat at computers on multiple platforms all around him as they prepared for what could be one of the most important experiments in their careers. The scientist looked over to the fiberglass dome in the very middle of the room, where the experiment would soon take place. The scientist let out a nervous breath and flopped down into chair as he waited for his fellow co-worker to arrive. A doctor with dark ruddy hair and glasses walked in from behind him. In his hands, he held a canister with a purple-red mass writhing around inside of it.

"Ah, Dr. Hikari! I see you've brought the subject!" the scientist exclaimed.

The other scientist nodded. "Well Dr. Matsurba, if I didn't bring this then what would our experiment be on? You are aware of what we are dealing with, correct Nathaniel?"

"Very funny Hikari. And yes, I know that the material has a reputation for death and destruction. Regardless, if this works, the original core and personality data should revert to how it was before it was corrupted by the virus."

As a serious expression took over both scientists' faces, one of the other scientists said that the experiment was all set. Dr. Hikari approached the large fiberglass dome, which had two pedestals inside of it. On one of the pedestals sat a small, strange object. It was a triangular turquoise colored crystal with multiple cracks lining its surface. In the middle of the platform it was on was a data chip, which was suspended by the metal clamps that were holding the small chip in place. The crystal was positioned under the chip and Dr. Hikari took the canister containing the strange mass and set it on the other pedestal where metal clamps held it in place.

Hikari walks out of the dome briskly. The four inch thick metal door, which he opened to get in, locked behind him as he exited. He came to stand beside Dr. Matsurba as they waited for the all clear before the experiment could begin. One of the operating scientists looked back to the two high ranked researchers.

"We're ready whenever you are sirs," he said flatly.

Both scientists nodded in agreement. "Begin the experiment!" Dr. Hikari called.

"Experiment in progress. Please standby for stage one in 3…2…1. Beginning Stage 1," an automated voice stated.

The mass in the canister began to glow, softly at first, but then it grew to a point where it was almost blinding. Doctors put on special glasses that allowed them to see through the intense light and radiation produced by the reaction. Inside the light, the once formless mass split into two halves, one red-white while the other was dark crimson-black. The white orb left the canister left the canister's confines and hovered over to the crystal. It dispersed into data-like streams and entered the turquoise object. The crystal glowed for a moment and the cracks that had webbed its surface repaired themselves. The light died down and the glowing crystal was left on the pedestal. The canister sat on the opposite pedestal, the now crimson orb slamming against its sides in presumable rage.

All the scientists present let out an audible sigh as relief coursed through their bodies.

"Data recovered. Stage one complete. Standing by for commands to begin stage two."

Dr. Hikari and Dr. Matsurba looked to each other and nodded.

"Are we prepared for the second stage of the experiment?" Dr. Hikari asked one of the scientists.

"Yes sir. The data is ready for download whenever you're ready. I presume you have already pre-programmed the navi's appearance?"

Dr. Matsurba nodded in affirmation. "Yes, but we didn't necessarily program the appearance. We were analyzing the data and as we were designing it, it started working on its own."

"Hmm, strange but if it's ready it doesn't really matter. Are you both ready to begin the next stage?" the scientist said.

Dr. Hikari nods. "Go ahead and start the program."

"Understood, initiating program now. Standby!"

The automated voice started up again. "Program uploaded. Please standby for stage two. Engaging!"

The crystal in the dome glowed again, but not nearly as bright as the time before. A small laser beam fired from the crystal and into the computer chip and that's all there was to it.

All the scientists in the room began to cheer and congratulate one another on a job well done. The experiment had gone without a hitch.

But that's when things went wrong.

A bright red glow was emitted from the crimson orb. All the scientists turned and stared in horror as the red orb burst out of the canister and entered the crystal. The process was repeated all at once and ended with a stream of crimson energy shooting into the chip. The light faded and Dr. Hikari and Matsurba sprinted into the fiberglass dome. They examined the chip, but nothing appeared to be wrong with it.

Since they couldn't run an in-depth analysis on it inside the dome, the two scientists took it up to a computer and ran a scan on it. Other scientists gathered around their superiors as they watched them read through the new navi's programming several times.

Dr. Matsurba finally spoke after a good five minutes of silence. His fingers were rubbing his temples in frustration. "I don't understand. The virus sealed itself away as a program instead of corrupting the data. How is that possible?"

"Maybe since he's regained awareness of himself, he fought it off. We can't be sure. For now, let's just be glad that he's still him," Dr. Hikari said optimistically.

His friend sighed. "I know Hikari, but that virus is dangerous. There's no telling what it can do."

"Moving on, who will be getting this navi? Surely you have someone in mind?" Dr. Hikari asked.

"My granddaughter Lyra will be the one to receive it. After reviving that other navi from old data and giving them to her brother, I believe it's time she got a navi as well."

"Ah, you granddaughter! Didn't I meet her when you brought her to SciLabs a few weeks back?"

"Yes, she's different from most teens isn't she? Anyhow, she will be getting this one."

"Have you set the navi's power to an average level?"

"Yes. It would be best for them to start out low like other battlers and make their way to the top rather than just start off strong. It'll help them grow closer this way."

Dr. Hikari nodded approvingly. "How is she in mental terms Nathaniel? Is she alright?"

Nathaniel shook his head. "I'm not sure. She's extremely good at hiding her emotions, so I don't know how she is. She refuses to talk about it. I'm hoping that he will have better luck…

A name imprinted itself on the screen and repeated itself multiple times as it was integrated into the soon-to-be navi's programming.

"Zero…"

**Eclipse: Okay, I hope this version is much better than my last. It'll most likely be longer than the previous version and more detailed, so I hope it clears up any questions regarding anything about Lyra and Zero's creation.**

**Lyra: I hope that the readers enjoy this version more than your other one. You plan to alert the reviewers that you're going to delete the previous version right?**

**Eclipse: Yeah, and I'm sure that some of them won't be too happy about this…**

**Lyra: No kidding Sherlock!**

**Eclipse: Well, until the next chapter is up, please review and give me your opinion on the re-write because the opinions of my readers matter! Until then, review!**


	2. Ch 2: The Wait is Over

**Eclipse: Here's chapter 2 of this story! Disclaimer is on the first chapter! And I'm so sorry for the long wait; my internet was down so I couldn't get this up! Anyhow, on with the story!**

**Lyra: What, no input from me?**

**Eclipse: No, so just shut up!**

* * *

**Chapter 2: The Wait is Over**

***The next day***

Sunlight poured through Lyra's bedroom window. The light pooled onto her bed and she let out a groan of annoyance.

_Please, I don't want to wake up… _she thought as she dragged the covers over her head.

She heard her door open and the sound was accompanied by heavy sounding footsteps. The footsteps stopped by her bedside and a hand set itself on her side. The hand shook her roughly.

"C'mon sis, wake up. Sis~!" a male voice chimed.

_Leave me alone Sam; I want to sleep some more…_

He continued to shake her. "Sis! C'mon, quit being a butt and freaking weak up!"

_For the last friggn' time Sam, NO! Let me sleep!_

"Lyra Matsurba wake up this instant!" a different voice yelled at her.

Lyra yelped and leapt at least three feet off the bed with her limbs flailing around wildly in alarm.

She landed back down on the bed with a solid "thud" sound. Her bed supports creaked at the sudden increase in pressure. She sat up and rubbed her still-drowsy eyes.

"Harpuia, what was that for?" she groaned.

"Well, your brother wasn't able to get you up, so I decided to step in and move the process along," the voice answered.

The voice emanated from her brother's PET which he held in his right hand. The person that produced the sound stood within the confines of the screen, looking quite pleased with himself. He wore a green vest and armor over a white bodysuit. His green armor had gold and white accents in places and two green and gold wing-like appendages extended upwards from his helmet. He had pale green eyes and green markings were under his eyes. His arms were crossed over his chest calmly as he stared at her with a smug smile on his face.

"Ha ha, very funny. Sam, can you get back at him for me?" she asked her younger brother.

Sam, short for Samuel, was the second oldest of the Matsurba siblings. Lyra was older than he was by a year. He had dark brown hair and brown eyes. He wore a white t-shirt under a light green sleeveless vest. Beige khakis and white tennis shoes completed the outfit.

His navi looked to him with a scared look on his face and was attempting to seem smaller than he was. Both siblings looked at each other and laughed, making Harpuia blush in embarrassment.

"Sure sis, I'll be sure to later. But hurry, we've got school in thirty minutes!"

Lyra smiled as her brother left her to get changed. She changed into a thin strapped sky blue dress that went down to the top of her knees. She put her hair back into a high ponytail and tied three aqua ribbons around the ponytail. After slipping on a pair of white knee-high socks and a pair of aqua shoes, she walked down stairs to get breakfast. On her way downstairs, she grabbed a white fanny pack and slipped it around her waist. It had a holster for her PET and a small bag for storing smaller items.

* * *

She entered the kitchen via the stairway, which was positioned against the left wall. She hopped off the last step and approached the table where her younger siblings were sitting. The table sat in front of three separate windows that overlooked the street. She sat down between Sam, who had his PET out and was talking to Harpuia, and her youngest sibling, Elizabeth. Elizabeth was only seven years old and had blond hair that went down to her shoulders, but at the moment, it was pulled back in a ponytail with a white ribbon. Strands of her hair were positioned in front of her ears and her bangs covered most of her forehead. she wore a simple pink dress, black tights, and white shoes.

Sitting next to her were the twins Lee and Ash. Lee and Ash both were eight and had brown hair, but the only way to tell who was who was by eye color. Lee had blue eyes while Ash had green eyes. They both wore a T-shirt, but Lee's was red while Ash's was blue. Also, Ash wore khakis whereas Lee wore jean shorts.

Next to Sam was her last sibling Trey. He was eight just like the twins, but they weren't related. He had dirty blond hair and brown eyes. He also wore jean shorts and a white t-shirt, but his had a lightning bolt design going down the middle of it. He had his PET out and was talking to his navi Voltar EXE.

Voltar looked much like a bird of some sort and even had the head of one. The armor on his chest, legs, and part of his head were light yellow. His wings were white and the areas in between the slats were yellow. There was a large, aqua colored crystal where all the wing joints connected. On his arms, he had armor going from his wrist to his forearm, and the armor on his forearms was white. The silver-white bands on his wrists were bladed and the protrusions extended backward. He had identical blades on his forehead and knees. His navi mark sat in the middle of his chest armor and it looked like a wing of some sort. His eyes were sky blue.

Out of the five members of the Matsurba family, only Sam and Trey had netnavis. They were both created by their grandfather and given to Sam and Lee on their birthdays. A thought hit Lyra's brain. Today day was Lyra's birthday. Was a personalized navi possibly in her future?

"Hey sis, Gramps left something for you last night," Trey said suddenly.

Lyra looked at Trey. "Really?"

"Yeah, he came home last night with a small box. He said to give it to you before we left for school," Sam explained.

Elizabeth smiled brightly and got up from her seat. "I'll go get it!" she chimed happily.

Lyra smiled as she watched her younger sister skip off into another part of the house to go get her present with her pink dress flowing behind her. _That's my sister for ya. Always happy-go-lucky._

Elizabeth came back with a small box no bigger that a PET. It was cube shaped and it was wrapped in red wrapping paper and had a gold ribbon going around it. Lyra carefully picked up the small box and undid the bow before proceeding to remove the wrapping paper. She didn't rip the paper apart; she instead took off the tape that held the paper in place. As she removed the last bit of paper, Lyra released a small gasp. The box in her hand was black, just pure black. A stylized Z was printed in ruby red on the top of the box.

Lyra gulped uncertainly and opened the lid slowly; her fingers kept the cubed object in place. The box opened with a popping sound, leaving Lyra and her siblings staring at its contents.

Inside the box was a triangular crystal. It was turquoise and gleamed beautifully in the morning light. A black cord was strung through one of its points, so the base hung flat. Lyra plucked the cord up with her fingers and set the necklace on the table. She peered back into the box and gasped with excitement. A small, grey computer chip was in the bottom of the box. It had a silvery sheen and was no bigger than an average battle chip.

Lee pushed past his siblings and got closer to Lyra. He began staring at the small chip with equal fascination.

"Is that-," he started.

Lyra looked to her brother and nodded with a large grin on her face. "Yeah Lee. It really is."

Ash looked from the chip to his sister and back again. "Well? What are you waiting for? Download it!"

Lyra chuckled and brought out her PET. She slid the chip in the port and a panel came up on her screen asking if she wanted to download the personalization program. She selected yes and the program started up. Another panel appeared with a progress bar that filled up rapidly with every passing second. Lyra and her siblings waited eagerly, their excitement could be felt hovering around the room like a heavy mist.

The progress bar filled up completely and the two panels vanished. The chip slid out of the exit port and Lyra's standard netnavi stood where it usually did at the left of the home screen.

"The program usually doesn't activate until twenty-four hours after it was downloaded, so it should be ready by tomorrow," Sam explained. He didn't really need to, considering that this was the third time this had happened.

Lyra nodded. "I remember when you got Harpuia. You were so worried because his program didn't activate right away and you dragged me all the way to SciLabs just to have Gramps tell you nothing was wrong!"

"Hey, it wasn't my fault I was worried! That was the first time any of us had gotten a personalized netnavi! We didn't know what to expect!"

Lyra laughed. "I know, I was just giving you a hard time bro. Anyway, we should probably head to school right now if we want to make it there on time."

The group of six all stood and bolted out the door. Luckily for them, they all attended the same school, so they were always together in the mornings. The Matsurba family sprinted across the many blocks to their school, occasionally having to stop at stop lights when it wasn't safe for them to cross.

Eventually, the family made it to the school.

The Matsurba siblings said their good-byes and went their separate ways. Her classroom was on the fourth floor of the building, so that meant a lot of stairs for her to climb up.

After walking up four flights of stairs, Lyra trudged down the hall to her homeroom. She glanced out the windows as she approached the door of her class, and she had to admit, the view was worth it. She could see at least four blocks out into the city. Heck, she could probably see her house.

* * *

Despite her wishes not to, Lyra opened the door and entered the classroom. Much like the day before, students and navis were making conversation all over the place. But when she walked in, a few guys in the room began to stare at her with surprised glances. She ignored the stares and calmly walked over to her desk. She sat down and jacked her navi into the mainframe again, leaving her alone. She waited for class to start in silence, but just two minutes later, she heard the door open again. She looked up and saw Alicia walk inside the room. Alicia beamed at her and sat down at the desk next to Lyra and got out her PET.

"Morning Lyra. How are you?" She asked her friend.

"I'm doing well. Get this; my grandfather gave me a personalized netnavi program today for my birthday. I'm so excited! I can't wait to see what my navi's like!" Lyra replied excitedly.

"Today's your birthday?! Well, happy birthday then!"

"Thanks! I'm just so excited about my navi! I can't wait!"

Alicia laughed at her friend's enthusiasm. "That's so cool! You hear that Kitsune? We're going to have a new friend soon!"

_Kitsune? Doesn't that mean fox in Japanese? _Lyra thought curiously.

As if to answer her question, a yellow navi popped up on screen. The navi looked exactly like a fox, but it stood on two legs. A purple yin-yang symbol was imprinted on its forehead and thigh armor. Armor covered its chest, forearms, and legs. Its head was that of a fox; it had ears and everything. It had five separate tails, each on tipped with a flame-like plume of white fur against the normal gold. It had only three fingers on its white-gloved hands. The navi mark it possessed was a traditional black and white yin-yang symbol and it took up the whole mark. It had blue eyes that gleamed with intelligence.

"Hmm… I would like to meet this navi once it's ready. Who knows, maybe I'll get a new battling partner," the navi answered. The voice was feminine, so that meant that Kitsune was female.

"Yeah, that's true. So, when will this mystery navi be ready?" Alicia asked.

"It should be ready be tomorrow morning. The personalized program generally takes twenty-four hours to load completely, so it'll be awhile," Lyra explains.

"I see. Well, we can't wait! And before I forget, I noticed that some of guys were looking at you. Do you like any of them?" She asked.

"No, not after what happened to me." _No, never again. I will never love like that ever again. _She thought sadly.

"What happened? Can you tell me?" Alicia pressed.

Lyra nodded. "It was a six months before before my parents died. You see, I used to have a boyfriend named Kai Thompson. We were close. I mean, _really _close. We were almost never apart, but we let each other have our space when we needed it. But one day, he came down with a rare illness that attacked his immune system. I went to the hospital often to visit him, but a few months after he was diagnosed, he…h-he…"

Lyra broke down. It was so horrible that she didn't want to remember. But the face of her boyfriend kept popping up in her head. It broke her heart.

Alicia got up and hugged her friend. "I'm so sorry Lyra. I know you don't like to be pitied, but I'm so sorry."

Lyra said nothing. She jus cried her sadness out. After a few moments, she drew a shaky breath and dried the tears on her face.

"After that day, my heart broke in two. I'm not capable of feeling that way ever again Alicia. I promised myself that I would never love like that ever again."

Alicia stared at her friend in shock. "I don't believe it. You've lost so much; how can you deal with all the emotion stress?"

Lyra smiled softly with tears still in her eyes. "It's not easy keeping it all on the inside. Sometime I fell like I'll explode. But there was one thing Kai gave me before he left me," she pulled out a small pendant. It had two hearts looped together; one smaller than the other, but the meaning was the same. The larger heart was silver and the smaller heart was gold. "He gave this to me for Christmas. I still remember what he said to me that day: 'I'll always be with you, not matter what. I'll keep you safe and happy, even if it costs me my life.' Coincidentally, we were under mistletoe. I can swear that he planned that whole thing out, but that pretty much sold it for me."

Alicia stared at her then the pendant, then back again. "Oh my god… you really were close. Wait, put the necklace on!"

Lyra stared in surprised at her friend. "Are you nuts?! I haven't worn this thing for years!"

"Exactly why you should wear it. It'll let the guys know that your heart already belongs to someone else, even if he's gone!"

Lyra smiled and brushed the last remaining tears off her face. "All right, you win. Just give me a sec."

After a few moments, the necklace was around her neck. The silver it was made from glimmered beautifully.

"It looks great," Alicia commented.

"Thanks."

At that moment, the teacher came in and the class snapped to attention. Every student got to their seats and so the boring class began; but then again, aren't all classes boring?

* * *

Once again, class droned on, but this time with Lyra and Alicia exchanging whispers and what not. The clock struck three and once again, Lyra repeated the previous day's process with only one change; Sam had sent her an e-mail asking her to meet some friends of his from his grade.

She quietly walked down the last flight of stairs to find her brother waiting for her with five other people with him.

One of the kids dashed up to her. He had orange-brown hair and brown eyes. He wore a blue band with an emblem in the middle of it on his forehead.

"So this is your sister? Hate to say it, but don't you think that she doesn't look tough?" he commented as looked over her appearance.

Lyra felt annoyance swell in her chest. "Well excuse me, but I'm not the one wearing a girly headband!"

The kid looked offended. "Hey, this is my dad's emblem. If you don't like it, then tough!"

"Sorry kid, but I didn't come here to play. Sam, we need to go, the others are waiting for us," she brushed the annoying kid off.

He tried to come at her, but his friends restrained him, saying that it was his fault for provoking her. The girl with the red hair stepped forward.

"Hey, you're Lyra Matsurba right? I'm sorry about Lan here. He's a hopeless case with girls. I'm Maylu and these are my friends Yai, Dex, and Tory," She introduced herself and the others with her.

She held out her hand with a smile. Lyra smiled back and took it.

_She's much more mindful than that friend of hers. _Lyra thought.

"Well it's nice to meet you. I'm sorry if I offended your friend there; I'm normally not like this," Lyra explained.

"It's fine. You brother told us not to provoke you, but Hikari over there did. He can be such an idiot sometimes…"

Lyra laughed. "Not surprised. I met his dad a few weeks back and he said that his son was blunt, but I never knew he was that blunt!"

Maylu laughed with her. "I heard from your brother that you're getting a personal netnavi. Do you have any idea what it'll be like?"

"Nope; it's a surprise. Our gramps never gave us a heads up on what our navis would be like. Probably never will either," Lyra explained.

"That's too bad, but hey, at least it keeps you on edge. You want –what?"

Lan had pushed past Maylu and was looking at me apologetically. "Sorry about earlier, but I heard you were getting a personalized netnavi. Does this mean you're going to start netbattling?"

I smile. "It sure does. I've already got 90 wins, but the standard netnavi sure made things hard."

Lan smiles in excitement. "Cool, you're already ready for the N1 Grand Prix!"

I cock my head in confusion. "The N1 Grand Prix? What's that?"

"Haven't you been listening sis? I've been talking about it for weeks!" Sam whined.

"I still have no clue what the heck you're talking about, so will someone please explain to me what the N1 Grand Prix is!" Lyra yelled.

Lan sighed. "It's a tournament for net battlers to compete in for the title of best net battler. You have to have 90 wins in order to enter."

_So that's what he meant when he said I was all set to go. _"Well, now that I heard it, I'm going to enter. My new navi and I are going to totally blow away the competition!" Lyra said enthusiastically.

"No you won't! Megaman and I are going to win it all! Right Megaman?"

A netnavi spoke from his PET. "Yeah, we'll be the ones to win that tournament!"

"You're both wrong. Harpuia and I will be the ones to win that tournament," Sam said with a smug smile.

Both Lyra and Lan glared at him. "NO YOU WON'T! I'LL WIN!"

The three glared at each other before Lyra let out a sigh. "Alright, that's enough. Sam, we need to pick up the others and head home."

Sam pouts, but he walks towards his sister. "Alright…"

Lyra turns to the others. "It was nice meeting you all. Maybe we can hang out sometime."

"How about tomorrow? Lan and Maylu can bring you guys to my place," Yai suggested.

Lyra turned the suggestion over in her head. "Sure. Does tomorrow afternoon sound good?"

Yai nods in affirmation. "We'll see you then!"

Lyra plucks her PET from its holster. Her navi appears on the screen. "Can you remind me that I have to go over to Yai's mansion with my brother tomorrow?"

"Yes. It has been marked on your calendar," the navi replied with a monotone voice.

Lyra let out a sigh as she followed her brother downstairs. They reach the ground floor of the school to find the rest of their siblings waiting impatiently for them. They apologized and walked straight back home with no questions asked.

* * *

Upon returning, the family got their homework done and spent the rest of the night chattering excitedly about Lyra's new netnavi. They kept on wondering what it would be like, how it would look and what not. They continued to talk for a few more minutes before going outside to play a bit of two-hand touch and other things.

At about 7:00, Lyra's grandfather came back from SciLabs to find that everyone was having dinner. Lyra had cooked for her siblings in his absence. They were having spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread. Dr. Matsurba walked into the kitchen and Lyra filled a plate for him. He sat down with his family and they continued to eat.

"So Gramps, what's my new navi like?" Lyra asked.

Her grandfather smiled. "You'll just have to wait and see."

His granddaughter let out an exasperated sigh and continued to scarf down her food quietly. Nothing else was said since they siblings had tired themselves out from talking for hours.

After finishing dinner, Dr. Matsurba sent the Matsurba siblings to bed. Lyra trudged up to her room sluggishly; she was exhausted just like her siblings were.

She threw on her pajamas and set her PET on the charger. With one last exhausted yawn, she flopped down on her bed and curled up under the covers as she fell asleep.

* * *

***Later that night***

As Lyra was fast asleep in her bed, her PET, which was still on the charger, turned itself on. Her standard navi stood on the left side of the screen as usual, but instead of spouting off a list of reminders, it said something completely different.

"Your personal program is now ready. Beginning activation of protocols. Downloading Zero Program…"

At that moment, multiple graphs, charts, data collections, and symbols popped up on panels all over the screen until it was completely filled up. A huge stylized Z like the one on the box Lyra had received popped up on the screen in a giant panel. It was a bright blue-green color and it took of the PET's whole monitor. It vanished and all of the other panels disappeared after it until all that was left was Lyra's standard navi.

The navi shuddered as it broke apart into particles. The particles reformed to produce a humanoid figure with long hair. Its body glowed red and the light slowly receded. But when it did, the PET turned right back off, leaving the sleeping Lyra completely clueless to all that had occurred.

* * *

**Eclipse: Ooooh! Cliffhanger!**

**Lyra: -_- Yeah, why don't you announce it the world genius?**

**Eclipse: Whatever, just do me a favor and shut up. Please review this because I was feeling a bit lazy while I was writing this chapter, so if there's anything that seems a bit vague, I'll be sure to go back and make some edits. So yada, yada, yada, review!**


	3. Ch 3: Introducing Zero

**Eclipse: Okay, third chapter's up. Finally.**

**Lyra: Good, you didn't take so long this time.**

**Eclipse: Hey it's not my fault the connection was out two days ago! Anyways, standard disclaimer is on the first chapter! Oh, and before I forget, Lyra will have a cooler and more calm personality, though she will still be easy to provoke. But anyways, here's chapter number 3!**

**Chapter 3: Introducing Zero (with mixed reactions)**

*The next morning*

Sunlight poured through Lyra's window like water coming out of a faucet. Lyra rolled over so her back was to the sunlight while she groaned in annoyance. She pulled the blankets back over her head in an attempt to go back to sleep. But that's when someone yelled at her.

"Lyra! Lyra! Hey! Lyra Matsurba! Wake up!"

She groaned in annoyance and chose to ignore the voice.

"Hey, quit ignoring me! Hey! WAKE UP!"

Finally fed up with all the yelling, Lyra removed the covers that had concealed her head.

"Whoever is yelling at me, will you please just shut the heck up!" she yelled in frustration.

"Man, and I thought I was a grump in the morning…" the voice groaned.

Lyra blinked and sat up. _That didn't sound like anyone I know. So who the heck could it be?_

She heard the voice chuckle in amusement. "How about you stop looking around in random directions like an idiot and try your PET?"

Slowly, Lyra glanced over to her PET. It was on the charger, just like it had been the night before. The screen was blank, but the background was lit, so appeared to be on. Beside her PET was the small turquoise crystal pendant she'd received the day before. Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary.

"Okay… this is strange. First, some voice tells me to look at my PET, yet nothing's wrong," Lyra paused and look over at her PET's screen, "But who just spoke to me then?"

"That was me."

A sudden surge of data flowed onto the device's screen and spiraled downward to reveal a netnavi. He had turquoise eyes and long gold blond hair that went down to his calves. He had on a black helmet with red spikes that extended backwards from a crystal in the v of the spikes. Two white spikes emerged from opposite sides of the helmet and extended outwards about three inches. He wore a black bodysuit that clung to his form tightly, highlighting the fact that he didn't have a lot of bulk to him. He wore armor, which consisted of a red vest, gauntlets with gold wrist bracers, what appeared to be white holsters on his thighs, and red boots.

Lyra stared part in confusion and part in amazement at the new navi. "W-who are-?"

The navi nodded before she could properly finish her sentence. "My name is Zero, the netnavi your grandpa and Dr. Hikari programmed. It's nice to finally meet you Lyra."

"Zero…?" she muttered in confusion. She was still shocked at the sight of her own navi.

Zero wore a confident smirk on his face. "What, not going to say anything to me? Well that's just rude."

She glared at him. 'Oh and you have room to talk smart mouth?! Since when did you have any say in what I do?"

"Since now genius."

Lyra let out a huff of annoyance and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, I'll put up with you for the moment. No reason to get off on a bad foot. Sorry about not saying anything, but I was just surprised that you weren't a female navi. Most netops get navis that are of the same gender as they are."

Zero looked insulted. "What, are you saying you'd rather have a different navi?"

"No, not at all! I'm just saying that this is different than most cases. I don't mind that you're a guy; it honestly doesn't matter to me," she explained.

Zero nodded in understanding. "Makes sense I guess. But anyways, aren't you supposed to be at Yai's this afternoon?"

Lyra looked at Zero in amazement. "You actually remember me asking you to remind me to be ready to head over to Yai's this afternoon?"

"Yeah. Just because a navi undergoes a change doesn't mean that they forget everything lame brain."

She narrowed her eyes at her new acquaintance. "Well thanks, but with all your insulting, I doubt I'll want to listen to what you have to say."

Zero huffed good naturedly at her. "Relax; I'm just giving you a hard time. But anyways, it's 11:30, so you'll want to be ready in the next few minutes."

"Thanks for the heads up Zero. I can't wait for you to meet the rest of my family!" Lyra chimed happily. She walked off to her closet with a smile on her face as she picked out what she was going to wear.

*A few minutes later*

Lyra walked out of the bathroom fully prepared to head to Yai's house. She'd chosen to wear the clothes she'd worn two days before, so she was comfortable. Her hair was up in a high ponytail again. She lifted her PET off the charger and slipped it into her holster before walking out of her room and down to the kitchen just as she had done the previous morning.

Sam was sitting at the table talking to Harpuia when she approached him.

"Good morning guys!" she chimed happily as she addressed both netop and netnavi.

"Morning sis! Are you-,"

"YOU!" Harpuia cut off his netop.

Harpuia was pointing to Lyra's PET and was glaring at it with a look that could kill a person. He looked furious.

"What do you mean Harpuia? You couldn't be talking about Zero right?" Lyra asked the navi.

Harpuia looked like he was about ready to reply to her question, but Sam cut him off before he could. "Zero? You mean your navi's finally ready?"

Lyra smiled. "Yeah! I should probably let you meet him face to face."

She pulled her PET from its holster and set it on the table so her brother could see Zero. Her brother looked at the PET's screen with fascination as he looked Zero over.

"Wow, he looks strong!" Sam said with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah, he's _so _strong! Now let me rip him apart!" Harpuia growled.

"Hello Harpuia. Good to see you. It's been awhile," Zero tried to be civil with the other navi.

"Don't give me that Zero! I'm gonna get you back for all the times you beat me!"

"Hey, I had no choice and you know that so don't even start with me!" Zero retorted.

"Zero, how do you and Harpuia know each other? What does he mean get back at you?" Lyra asked her navi.

Zero sighed. "Harpuia and I were created in the same lab Lyra. So of course we know each other. As for the other bit, the scientists made us have practice battles to test our strength and I usually ended up creaming him," Zero explained.

The drop of sweat on Zero forehead made Lyra think otherwise. She narrowed her eyes at hr navi. _He's definitely hiding something. I'll leave it alone for the moment, but I'll get my answers when he's ready to explain._

Unlike Lyra, who was only uncertain, Harpuia knew for a fact that what Zero said was a lie. "That's not-,"

Harpuia got a look from Zero that said "shut up, I'll explain later", so he shut his mouth and bit back his retort.

"Wow, so you were created over six months ago? That's so cool!" Sam exclaimed.

"What makes you say that?" Zero asked.

"Well, my birthday was six months ago and that's when I got Harpuia, so that would have to mean that you were created six months ago too."

"I see," Zero said pensively.

"But really, you beat Harpuia? Hate to say it, but my navi is pretty hard to beat," Sam commented.

"Not pretty hard to beat. I _am _hard to beat," Harpuia corrected.

Zero let out a huff of disbelief and crossed his arms over his chest. "Oh really? Then explain to me how I ended up beating you all those times without the assistance of a netop?"

Harpuia growled. "Why you..."

"Okay, that's enough talking for the moment! We need to get going if we're going to get to Yai's house on time," Lyra insisted.

"Yeah, you two can argue later, we need to go!" Sam agreed.

Both siblings stuffed their PETs in their holsters before their navis had the chance to say otherwise. They both sprinted down the block towards where Lyra though Yai's house was, but in truth she was really just following her brother. He led her through multiple alleyways and through a number of backstreets. They finally got out onto the main road again. Sam had slowed down to a walk and Lyra jogged over to his side.

"Are we there yet? We've been running for fifteen minutes!" she panted.

"Almost. It's on the next block," he panted back.

"Don't tell me you're both tired from a fifteen minute run! If you are that's ridiculous!" Harpuia spat from his PET.

"Harpuia, they're humans, not navis. A fifteen minute run is easy for us, but they have less stamina than we do. Unlike us, they aren't made from data," Zero said in their defense.

"Whatever. At least we're almost there," Harpuia said in mock optimism.

"Speaking of being there, we're here!" Sam said happily.

Lyra looked over in relief at their destination. All emotion drained from her face and shock took over. They were standing in front of a huge mansion. The rod iron gates and fencing kept them out, but a speaker mounted on the gate's brick supports suggested that they could get in contact with someone on the inside. The mansion itself took up at least three city blocks.

_ How could I have not seen this place from school?! It's friggin' huge! _Lyra thought.

Sam walked up to the speaker and hit the microphone button.

"Welcome to the Aiyano Mansion. What business do you have here?" the operator spoke from the speaker.

"Hello, we're friends of Yai. She told us to come here this afternoon," Sam answered.

"Ah, yes. Yai told us to expect quite a few people coming to see her. Please wait a moment for the gates to open and have a nice day," the operator hung up.

A few seconds later, the gates opened, allowing Lyra and Sam to enter the mansion's grounds. The grounds were filled with trees, nicely cut bushes, tennis courts, and heck knows what else. Sam tugged his sister's arm and led her to a house-sized tree house that was in a rather large tree. A latter was slung down from the porch of it. The Matsurba siblings climbed up the rope latter and entered the structure's door. The inside was exactly like a house. It had a few couches, a fridge, and table like typical houses. But where a TV probably would have been was a virtual battle top. It covered a whole wall and the navis standing on it were life size. There was a navi with different shades of blue armor fighting a much bulkier navi that had yellow, red, and grey armor.

Two of the kids from the previous day were standing in front of the holographic screen. One of them was wearing a signature headband and the other one was wearing a green shirt with shorts.

_Those kids…their names are Lan and Dex. At least I think those are their names._

"Hey guys!" Sam greeted.

Both boys turned around to face the Matsurba siblings.

"Hey, you're messing up Megaman net battle with Gutsman, so can you hold on-wow! Sam is that your sister?!" Lan yelled in disbelief.

"Yeah, it's me. This is what I normally look like dummy. I just wore the dress for the heck of it yesterday," Lyra explained.

"Haha, that kid really doesn't notice much, does he?" Zero spoke from his PET.

Lan looked around the room in a very sad attempt to find Zero. "Who said that?"

"That would be my navi Zero. Give me a second so I can jack him in," Lyra said. The young girl pulled her PET from its holster and pulled the extension cord, "Jack in, Zero! Power up!"

Within seconds of Lyra jacking him in, Zero appeared on the holographic screen with Megaman and Gutsman.

"Wow, that's Zero? I've never seen a navi like that!" Dex said in amazement.

"Yeah, he doesn't ever have an emblem like other navis," Lan noticed.

"Well, Harpuia doesn't have an emblem, so it's not too surprising," Sam piped.

Lyra smiled as the others began to point out the differences between Zero and an everyday custom netnavi. She smiled in amusement as Zero back away from the holographic screen as the others tried to get a closer look at him.

"What, not liking the attention Zero? Or are you just a chicken?" she asked with a sly smile.

Zero let out an indignant huff and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm no chicken! I just don't like being crowded."

Lyra laughed along with Lan, Dex, and Sam, all of which had witnessed the exchange between the netop and netnavi.

"Hey guys! We're back!" a voice chimed.

Everyone in the room looked towards the door to find Maylu, Tory, Yai, and Lee standing in the doorway.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Lan asked in greeting.

Lyra and the others waited as the group of new arrivals walked over to them.

"Sis, you came!" Lee leapt at his older sister, who abruptly caught him in her arms.

Lyra laughed for a moment. "Yeah, I came. Zero wouldn't let me forget even if I told him to."

Lee cocked his head in confusion. "Zero?"

"Yeah, he's my new netnavi. Would you like to meet him?" Lyra asked her younger sibling with a smile.

"Yeah! Yeah!" I wanna meet him! Where is he? Can you show him to me?" Lee asked as he jumped up and down.

Lyra couldn't help but smile at her brother's childish antics.

"We'd like to meet him too. Is he already jacked in?" Yai asked.

Lyra nodded. "Yes, he's there already."

"I should probably jack in Harpuia. He's getting sick of waiting," Sam stated.

Lyra nodded at her brother and Maylu stepped forward with her PET's extension cord pulled out. "Alright guys, what are we waiting for?"

"Jack in!" Maylu, Tory, Sam, and Yai said in unison before calling out the names of their individual navis.

"Roll!"

"Iceman!"

"Glyde!"

"Harpuia!"

"Power up!"

*On the net*

All four navis appeared on the net where Zero, Megaman, and Gutsman already stood.

Roll was the first to approach Zero. "So you're Lyra's new navi?"

Zero nodded in affirmation. "Yes, it's true."

Iceman was the next to walk up. "Wow, and I thought Harpuia was strange looking, but this is just pushing it."

Zero, rightfully offended, let out a huff of annoyance and crossed his arms over his chest much like he had only minutes before. He shut his eyes and turned his to the right as he regarded Iceman in disdain.

Glyde was the last to approach Zero. The sweat drop on the back of his head signaled that he was a bit disappointed in his friend's behavior towards the new navi. "You must excuse Iceman. He can be a bit blunt at times."

Zero opened his left eye so he could see Glyde out of the corner of it. He silently regarded Glyde for a moment before turning back to face him with both of his eyes open.

"My name is Glyde and as you probably know, my operator is Yai. It is a pleasure to meet you Zero."

Glyde extended his hand towards Zero in greeting. Zero decided to be polite and returned the handshake with a small smile on his face.

*Back in the real world*

Lee had shoved past everyone to get a proper look at Lyra's new netnavi. Everyone in the room, minus Sam, Lan, Dex, and Lyra, looked at Zero with fascination.

"Aww… I wish I had a personal netnavi like you guys…" Lee frowned.

Lyra smiled at her brother. "Don't worry; I'm sure you'll get your own personalized navi someday."

Lee looked at his sister. "You think so?"

"I know so. Almost all of us have personalized navis now. I'm sure that you and Elizabeth will have your own soon enough," Lyra consoled her brother.

Lee's frown was replaced by a smile. "You're right! I'll just keep on waiting until Gramps is able to get me one!"

Lyra chuckled at her brother's sudden mood swing. _Why am I not surprised that he would react like that?_

"Hey Lyra, are we going to have a netbattle or what? Megaman and I want to see how Zero fights!" Lan challenged.

Lyra got a competitive gleam in her eyes. She looked to the battletop. "How does that sound to you Zero?"

Zero smirked at her from the battletop's holographic screen. "I say bring it on. I've been itching for a good battle!"

Lyra smiled happily and faced Lan. "Lan," she started, "You are going down."

Lan smirked back. "In your dreams Lyra! Megaman and I are going to win this!"

"Yeah, it's not going to be as easy as you think to take us down!" Megaman challenged along with his netop.

"Zero, care to show them how things are done?" Lyra said smugly.

Zero smirked and got the same competitive gleam in his eyes as his netop. "With pleasure."

"Alright everyone, clear the arena!" Glyde called.

Every navi that wasn't battling sat down on some bleachers that had appeared on the net. In the real world, the netops of those navis found a place to sit down, whether it was on a couch or on a spare chair that was dragged over.

"Glyde, please start the battle sequence," Yai asked her navi.

"Very well. Alright you two, this is a one on one battle. Please refrain from deleting each other," Glyde stated.

Both the faces of the netnavis and netops went slack.

"I don't need to be told that," Zero grumbled.

"Doesn't he know that we already knew that from the get-go?" Megaman muttered.

"We don't need to be told not to delete each other's navis!" Lan groaned in annoyance.

"How about we stop groaning and get battling?!" Lyra snapped at the three of them.

"Alright, alright, sheesh, no need to yell," Zero groaned at his netop.

"Good, let's get this battle started! Cybersword battle chip in! Download!" Lan proclaimed.

"Oh no you don't! Triple rod, battle chip in! Download!" Lyra countered.

The Cybersword replaced Megaman's left hand. The sword was a run of the mill blue broadsword. Meanwhile, a white staff-like object appeared in front of Zero. It had a pentagon shape on the top and another smaller one on the bottom. A triangular shaped blade was on the top of the staff. He twirled it once to check if it worked properly before falling into a battle stance.

On the sidelines, Harpuia eyed the energy weapon that Zero held. "Hmm... an interesting choice" he mused.

Back on the battlefield, Megaman charged Zero with the Cybersword raised to slash him.

"Zero look out!" Lyra yelled in distress.

Zero only smirked and brought the rod up to block the blow. He pushed Megaman away and charged him as the rod dispersed into particles. He then grabbed a white cylinder object out of one of the holsters on his thigh. It had the same overall design of the triple rod, but it was more like a hilt of some sort. Green energy flared out of the top and formed the same triangular energy blade but it was much larger than the one on the Triple rod.

Harpuia glared at the energy saber Zero held. _The Z-saber... that weapon was the bane of my comrades and myself. Well, let's see how much you still know Zero..._

Back on the battlefield, Zero was coming within attacking range of Megaman. Instead of making his move early like his opponent, he waited until the last second to strike. He gave Megaman a low horizontal slash to the stomach. The blue navi was sent careening across the battlefield until he finally came to a halt.

"What just happened?!" Roll yelled in shock.

Everyone who was watching hadn't even seen Zero strike Megaman with his saber. They were all awe-struck by Zero's speed and agility.

"Harpuia, you know Zero. What just happened?" Glyde inquired.

Harpuia let out a sigh. "Zero is a master swordsman. He was programmed to be a close combat-specialist, but he also has long-range combat capabilities. While his strikes aren't very powerful since his specs are no greater than a normal netnavi's, he plots his attacks to get the maximum impact out of the power he has. Unlike Megaman, Zero masked his movements until it would be too late for Megaman to counter them. That's why he beat me so many times. He's a tactical genius!"

Everyone stared wide-eyed at the red navi fighting Megaman. He was much more powerful than he looked.

Zero walked over to where Megaman was lying on the ground. Megaman was on the ground groaning from where Zero had hit him.

"Zero that was amazing! I've never seen anything like that before!" Lyra complemented her navi.

_Gramps was right. He is special. _She thought.

"Thanks, but this isn't over yet," Zero stopped by Megaman's side.

Megaman looked to Zero and glared courageously at him. Instead of raising his saber to strike the final blow, Zero extended his free hand to Megaman.

"Huh?" Megaman didn't even need to ask why Zero was helping him.

"C'mon, get up. I'm not going to attack a defenseless opponent," Zero explained.

Megaman smiled and grabbed Zero's hand. The red navi hauled Megaman to his feet and back away a few steps.

"Alright, now that I'm up, why don't we kick things up a notch?" Megaman smirked.

Zero returned the gesture with a competitive smile. "You hear that Lyra? You'd better be ready!"

"I will be!" his netop replied happily.

"Area steal, battle chip in! Download!" Lan proclaimed.

Megaman disappeared in a flash of discolored light. Zero tensed immediately as he looked around for where Megaman might appear next.

"Z-buster, battle chip in! Download!" Lyra exclaimed suddenly.

A grey plasma gun appeared in Zero's free hand. He studied the weapon for a moment before smiling.

"Figured you could use some long-range weaponry," Lyra explained.

"Thanks, because I have a feeling he's going to use a long range attack," Zero thanked her.

"Megabuster!" came a sudden yell.

"Zero behind you!" Lyra warned.

Zero jumped out of the way of a plasma blast. He followed the blast back to its source and fired his own gun at it. Multiple beams of yellow energy flew from the buster and showered the intended target with a barrage of attacks. A yell indicated that he had hit his mark. An explosion ensued and Megaman was sent flying out of his hiding place behind some cyber pillars. Zero stuck his buster in his other holster and re-drew his saber. The red navi jumped into the air as Megaman descended.

"Lyra, I need a chip!" he yelled to her.

"Alright then! Cybersword, battle chip in! Download!"

Zero's stuck his saber back in it's holster and his right hand transformed into a glowing red Cybersword. The sword slashed across Megaman's body and he rocked off in another direction of the battle field.

"Area steal, battle chip in! Download!" Lyra proclaimed.

Zero disappeared but then reappeared right where he thought Megaman would land.

"Ready to finish this?" he asked his netop.

"Yeah. I think you'll know this chip Zero! Z-saber battle chip in! Download!"

Zero readied his saber, but this time it seemed to glow just a bit brighter than before. Zero shot forward and jumped into the air towards Megaman's falling form. A flash of light shot across Megaman's chest and he let out a gasp. He logged out and Zero landed on the ground only a few feet away. Zero let out a sharp gasp and started panting really hard from lack of air in his body and exhaustion.

Harpuia stared at Zero from where he and his dumbfounded friends sat. _You're just as good as you were when you battled Phantom, Fefnir, Leviathan, and I Zero. Perhaps you're even stronger than you were then. Either way, I'm glad I have someone to call a worthy opponent. _He thought to himself.

Back on the battlefield, Zero was frozen where he stood. He was breathing quite heavily and his body felt extremely sore.

"Zero!"

His netop's face appeared on a holo screen. "That was amazing! You did great!"

Zero smiled. "Thanks. I think…I need…to rest."

The red navi's eyes closed and he collapsed on the battlefield in an exhausted heap. Lyra smiled and jacked her navi out so he could get some much-needed sleep.

She turned to her friends and they all smiled at her warmly.

"Nice battle Lyra. I tell ya, Zero gave Megaman a darn good beating!" Lan said. He was smiling at her, but she could see his disappointment at losing a match against a brand-new navi.

"You can say that again, he really gave me a good thrashing!" Megaman complained.

Lyra smiled. "Well, you won't have to worry about getting another for a while because he basically passed out right after the battle. He's exhausted."

"I'd be exhausted too if that was the first battle I'd had in six months. He should be better by tonight," Harpuia commented.

"What makes you say that Harpuia?" Lyra asked the green navi.

"Well, a part of his programming is devoted solely to fast recovery, so he'll be back up and itching for a battle in no time flat. But next time," he looked straight at Lyra, "I'll be the one to battle him."

"Alright Harpuia, you get dibs on next battle with Zero," she turned to her siblings, "I think it's time we head home for the night. Gramps will be expecting us."

"All…*yawn* alright," Lee yawned.

Lyra smiled. "Seems like Zero isn't the only one who's tired."

She quietly said good-bye to the others before ushering her siblings out of the tree house. When she got outside onto the deck, she shut her eyes and took a breath of fresh air.

After a moment, she opened her eyes and took out her PET. Zero was on the screen with his eyes closed. She smiled happily to herself.

_Zero, I have a good feeling about you. I think we'll be great friends. _She thought as she climbed down after her siblings.

**Eclipse: Okay, I know this chapter was longer than normal, but I at least hope you liked it!**

**Lyra: I wouldn't worry too much. You at least didn't take as long to update this time around.**

**Eclipse: *glares* Hey!**

**Lyra: Oh no. *runs away with Eclipse chasing her around the room.**

**Zero: Okay, since those two are being complete idiots, I'll say this for Eclipse. Please review and give us your opinion because Eclipse actually cares about the opinions of her readers. So yeah, as usual, review!**


	4. Ch 4: Kickoff

**Eclipse: Finally. I get to this chapter!**

**Lyra: what's got you so psyched about this chapter?**

**Eclipse: You kiddn' me? This is where I finally get to write about the N1 Grand Prix!**

**Lyra: What, no emotional chapter? **

**Eclipse: Not in this story, no. In the other version it worked, but I just can't really see that happening since zero doesn't really insult you much. At the very least, I'll put it in later in this story, but otherwise not just yet.**

**Lyra: So when do you plan to put in an emotional chapter?**

**Eclipse: Later in this fic. That's all I'm saying. Anyways, standard disclaimer is on the first chapter!**

**Chapter 4: Kickoff**

*five days later*

Unlike the previous days of that week, no sunlight pooled on Lyra's bed like it normally did. Instead, rain pitter-pattered on her window and created long smeared patterns on it. Lyra, ever the morning person, was curled up on her bed.

That is until her navi began to yell at her.

"Lyra, wake up! You're going to be late for school if you don't get your butt out of bed!"

The mentioned girl groaned and slammed an extra pillow over her head.

"Darn it, if I actually had a physical body I'd push you out of bed right now! Darn it, quit ignoring me you stupid girl!"

Lyra only groaned and pressed the pillow to her head with a bit more force. _Let me sleep Zero…?!_

"God darn it, GET UP!"

"Alright, I'm up! I'm up! Sorry Zero!" the young girl apologized.

"Gees, I knew I shouldn't have let you stay up so late netbattling," Zero commented from his PET, which was on the charger.

"Hey, you were encouraging me to! You're as much to blame as me! Besides, I have to get ready for the N1 Grand Prix. It's starting today you know!" Lyra explained as she picked out an outfit for the day.

"I know but we have until after school Lyra. That's eight hours. That's plenty of time to finish preparing. The least you can do is not be late for school," he pointed out.

Lyra sighed. "You're right. But I can't get my mind off of the incidents caused by World Three."

"World Three? Who are they?"

"Well based on what I've heard, it's a net terrorist association bent on conquering the whole world by wrecking havoc on the cyber network. I found out that before I got you, they were having terrible fires all over town thanks to one of World Three's members, Mr. Match and his navi Torchman. Lan was actually attacked by them last week. From what he's told me, he's been attacked quite a few times," she explained as she walked over to her bathroom with her chosen outfit.

"Huh. I find it hard to believe that Lan would be able to fend off World Three netnavis on his own," Zero said.

"Well, they're wimps. Well, except for one, but still. He was able to, so you'd better believe it Zero," Lyra yelled from behind the closed bathroom door.

"I guess. But how do we know that World Three won't sabotage the N1 Grand Prix?"

Lyra was silent for a moment before she answered. "Simple. We don't. We won't know until the competition starts up next week Zero. And even then, we don't know the members of World Three except for Mr. Match and Torchman."

"That's all the information you have? Don't your friends know any other members?"

Lyra walked out of the bathroom with her hair braided and she wore a pair of jeans and a white spaghetti strap shirt with a black sleeveless vest. "Like I said, Lan's been attacked a few times, so chances are that he does know a some other members of World Three, but I can't guarantee that he knows all of them just yet."

Zero grimaced. "Darn it, how are we supposed to stop them if we don't even know what we're looking for?!"

Lyra was puzzled by her navi's frustration for a moment before she realized that he didn't want to let his netop down. If there's one thing she'd learned about her partner, it's that he firmly believes in the ideals of those he fights for. She smiled and approached her PET. "Zero, it's not our job alone. The Net Military is on the job and Lan and Megaman are doing the best they can to help. You don't have to do things all by yourself."

Her navi sighed. "I guess you're right. But still-"

"No buts. I know I'm right and that's a fact. Now c'mon, we've gotta go."

Zero perked up and Lyra picked up her PET off the charger and placed it inside the holster on her belt along with her chip case. She flew down the steps and into the kitchen where she and her brothers had been the other day. She immediately grabbed her bag and sprinted to the door. She put on her black combat boots that she'd let there the night before. She threw the front door open and began to sprint down the block to school. Without an umbrella.

"Why weren't your siblings awake when we left Lyra? Shouldn't they have been up at the same time as you?" her navi asked from the PET.

"They had to leave early this morning to catch up on some tests. Elizabeth had play practice; Lee, Ash, and Trey had to actually make up some tests from when they were sick last week and Sam had early morning detention."

"Okay, what'd he do?"

"He wasn't paying attention in math class."

"That doesn't really sound like a good reason to give someone detention."

"Well, when you're talking to your netnavi and sending e-mails to your friend in another class, which you happen to have a crush on, you can expect to be punished."

"Okay, now that's a bit more reasonable. Speaking of which, why don't you have an umbrella?" Zero asked.

Lyra, who'd already sprinted across two blocks and was only one block away from her school, skidded to a stop at a stop light. "Well, since I sprint to school every day and I'm kinda in a hurry, I didn't see the point in bringing one. I don't care if I catch a cold; I barely ever get sick."

"Ohhh. Now that makes a lot of sense," Zero said sarcastically.

"Nice sarcasm Mr. Obvious," she groaned. She was already annoyed enough by the rain constantly pounding on her shoulders.

"Thanks," he muttered back.

The stop light changed and Lyra charged across the street. She sprinted down the block alongside the brick walls of her school. She came to a screeching halt outside the school gates where many other students were making a dash for the door. She took a breath and jogged the remaining distance between her and the front door like most of the other kids running inside the building.

When she got inside, the first thing she noticed was her soaked clothes. She sighed and decided to let them dry as she trudged over to the staircase. She began to ascend the steps rather leisurely in comparison to the students that were just about jumping up the steps to get to class.

By the time she reached the top of the stairs, her clothes were much drier than they had been in the school lobby. She let out a comfortable sigh and walked to her classroom briskly. She entered just before the starting bell rang, which signaled the beginning of the school day. Much like the other students, she raced to her seat and sat down. Alicia, who sat right next to her, smiled over at her.

"Good morning class. Today, we are going to be learning how to graph a linear equation which involves-," the teacher's voice was unheard by the tow girls.

"What took you so long to get to school today? You're usually the first one here!" Alicia whispered harshly.

"I know, but my siblings had to come in early this morning to catch up on some things and I woke up later than usual. Zero had to yell at me just to get my lazy butt out of bed," Lyra whispered back.

"Yeah, and you took your precious time too…" Zero grumbled.

"Oh shush. I don't need your opinion here, so just jack into the mainframe; I'll jack you out once school ends," Lyra groaned.

Zero let out a huff of annoyance. "Alright, alright. I'm gone."

Lyra pulled her PET's extension cord out and linked up to the school system. Zero disappeared from her PET's screen in a flurry of data, leaving the normally occupied screen empty.

"Thank goodness he's gone," Lyra sighed.

"Yeah, he would have annoyed us to no end. We'll talk at lunch, okay?" Alicia asked.

"Yeah, that sounds good."

And so the day once again droned on without Zero's interruption, just like every other day. Lyra and Alicia paid attention in their classes, despite how boring some of them were. Because of the N1 Grand Prix, schools were letting out at 11:00 to allow participants to arrive in time for their matches.

As the bell rung, Lyra felt her excitement boil up inside her. It kept growing and growing until she could hold it back no more. She and Alicia shared a competitive glance.

"Good luck today. You're gonna need it," Alicia challenged.

"Same to you. Be ready to be beat by Zero and I. We'll show you guys who's the best!" Lyra smirked back.

Both girls hurriedly stuffed their books in their bags and jacked out their navis. Lyra, ever the competitor, sprinted ahead of her fellow classmates and barreled out the door without stopping to say good-bye.

She leapt down the steps and skidded to a halt in front of the door where her siblings were waiting for her. Like her, they all had ecstatic smiles on their faces.

"You guys ready for this?" Lyra asked.

"You bet!" Trey cheered, "Voltar and I will win for sure!"

"No, it'll be me and Harpuia who'll run this show. Count on getting beat little bro!" Sam said as he ruffled Trey's dirty blond hair.

Lyra smirked. "You're both wrong. Zero and I will win it all, just you wait and see. But all thoughts aside," she paused and held out her hand with her palm facing downward, "May the best battler win."

Sam placed his hand atop hers. "May the best battler win."

Trey mirrored his siblings. "May the best battler win!"

"We'll cheer you guys on from the sidelines with everything we've got!" Lee said enthusiastically.

Ash nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we'll be rooting for you."

Elizabeth walked up to her older siblings. "Please be careful guys."

Lyra bent down on one knee and placed her hands on her younger sister's shoulders. "Don't worry Lizzie. We'll be fine."

With a reassure squeeze on her sister's shoulders and a nod to her brothers, Lyra walked out of the building with her siblings trailing behind her. Her grandfather's van was parked outside the school gates. He had the window rolled down as he watched his grandchildren approach.

The Matsurba siblings dashed up to the van.

"I call shotgun!" Lyra called.

"Aww! I wanted shotgun!" Lee whined.

While the others climbed in, Lyra took the chance to answer her brother. "Sorry little bro! You aren't old enough yet!" Lyra said teasingly. Her brother's cheeks puffed up in annoyance and he climbed in to only slam down in the very back seat in frustration.

Lyra turned to her grandfather as he started up the car. "What are you doing here gramps? I thought you had work today."

Her grandfather smiled at her. "I know sweetie, but I wasn't going to let you and your siblings walk all the way there. They can do without me for an hour."

Lyra smiled. "Thanks gramps."

Her grandfather returned the gesture and started up the car. The engine roared to life and they took off towards the location of the tournament. On the way there, time seemed to speed up for Lyra and her siblings. The thought of them performing on a national stage in front of hundreds, maybe thousands of people both excited them and made them nervous. Lyra herself was feeling the excitement get to her as she thought of all the tough opponents she would be facing.

_Man this excitement is killing me! If we don't get there soon, I swear I'll explode! _She thought as the thrill of battle once again shuddered through her body. She clasped the necklace Kai had given her before he died. _I wish you could be here with me Kai. _She finished on a rather sour note.

After about thirty minutes of driving, the family reached their destination. It was an arena floating in the middle of the sea. The siblings crowded the windows facing the location in excitement as they crossed the last few meters of the bridge that connected the arena to the mainland.

They exited the bridge and her grandfather pulled the car up in front of the registration building. As the Matsurba siblings leapt out of the car, their grandfather said a few encouraging words to them.

"Good luck everyone! Stay out of trouble!" he yelled from the driver's seat of the car. The group of siblings turned to him and smiled before continuing to the registration building.

Before they entered the building, the group stopped just outside the door.

"Once we find out where our matches are, go find some good seats in the stadium we're in. We'll be there as soon as possible," Lyra explained.

"I'm guessing we'll be keeping contact by e-mail, right?" Ash asked.

"Yes. I'll send you guys an e-mail so you know where we're battling and when okay?"

Lee, Ash, and Elizabeth nodded.

"Alright then, we'd better get registered before it's too late," Sam pointed out.

"Yeah, we'll see you guys later!" Lee said to his three other siblings.

"Bye!" the three chimed in unison before walking off.

The remaining three siblings walked into the registration building. The line was long, but it was moving quickly. Before the three net battlers knew it, they were registered and knew where their matches were. The three walked out and turned to each other.

"Well, based on what the lady at registration told us, it looks like you're up first Lyra," Sam said.

"Yeah. Good luck sis!" Trey chimed.

Lyra nodded to both of her brothers. "Thanks guys. You'd better get to the waiting rooms in your stadiums just in case. They can't have a missing competitor now can they?"

"Yeah, you're probably right. Whether you know it or not, we're with you," Sam encouraged his sibling.

She nodded. "Thanks, but enough with the mushiness, it's every battler for themselves! Good luck!"

With that the three siblings parted ways, each out to win it all.

*elsewhere*

Four shadowed figures observed the Matsurba siblings' arrival with interest from a shaded spot under some trees. One of the figures was sitting on one of the tree's branches while another leaned against the trunk. The other two just stood next to their presumed comrades.

"So that's Lyra, huh? She doesn't look so tough!" one of the standing figures said. His rough voice was loud and obviously clear as many passing people looked at him strangely.

"Don't underestimate her; she has the legendary navi Zero as her partner. I would be careful if I were you," the figure next to him quipped. The voice was female this time.

"Oh shush you little brat! Unlike you, I'm not an ocean-loving idiot!" the other barked back.

"What did you just call me?!" the girl retorted harshly.

The two figures engaged in a staring contest until the figure sitting on the branch dropped down in between them.

"We shouldn't be fighting amongst ourselves. We cannot afford to fail in our mission," the figure said in a soft, low voice. The voice was much lower than the girls and was obviously male.

"It wasn't a mission in the first place! We just came together and decided that we were going to enter the N1 Grand Prix to fight the legendary navi! If what our navis say about him is true, then we're going to have the best fights of our lives!" the girl pointed out.

"Be that as it may, we need to observe him and his netop. You know that the Net police ordered us to keep an eye on them. They're being targeted."

"You all just need to stop this childishness."

All three heads turned towards the speaker. The figure leaning against the tree was female; her voice indicated that. She seemed to carry some authority with her since it caused the three bickering figures to shut up.

"Our job is to protect Zero and his netop. If the info is right and they are being targeted by World Three, then we cannot fail in our mission as the ninja over there said. You three were chosen to assist me in my mission even though you weren't official net battlers. Now shut up and actually act like it!" she scolded.

The other three hung their heads shamefully as the figure leaning against the tree checked her watch.

_Time to start. _She thought.

"Time to head to your match. Remember, you are simply to test Zero and his netop, but do not be afraid to push them to their limits. You may have fun, but keep your job in mind," she reminded the first figure.

"Fine, fine, but after all this is over, I'm going to have a real netbattle with them; no holding back!" he said before he charged off to his arena.

The other girl walked up to her. "Are you sure he'll succeed? I mean, he's so rash and what not. I don't think he'll-,"

The other figure raised her hand for silence. "He will not fail us. He knows his task and he will succeed in it. Now all we do is wait."

With that, all three remaining figures silenced themselves as they awaited the news their comrade would bring them.

**Lyra: Nice ending. It must have been hard to hide all their names, huh?**

**Eclipse: It sure was. It is still left untold as to why Zero and Lyra are being targeted by World Three, and that's just how I wanted it!**

**Lyra: Yeah, but how does this play into everything?**

**Eclipse: You'll see soon enough my friend. Anyways, please review this because I like having the opinions and thoughts of my readers! Until the next chapter is up, bye!**


	5. Ch 5: First Round Battle! Zero vs Fefnir

**Eclipse: Alright, chapter 5 is up and it introduces our first guardian.**

**Lyra: Based on the chapter name, it's pretty obvious which one it is, huh?**

**Eclipse: Be that as it may, I'm still not saying a word! And I'm sorry it took so long to update; I encountered some brief writer's block. Also, I have been banned from using the computer during the week, so updates are going to be happening much more slowly. Anyhow, standard disclaimer is on the first chapter so I'm just going to shut up and let you guys read.**

**Chapter 5: First Round Battle: Zero vs. Fefnir**

Lyra dashed into the waiting room of the stadium she was in. The door slammed against the wall as she entered. The breathless net battler stopped just in front of the door and bent over panting. She remained like that for a moment due to the sprinting she'd done just to get into the locker room. After a few seconds, she regained her breath and stood up again. As she meandered through the locker room to find a bench to sit on, she saw everything from netops conversing with their navis, going over battle strategies, to even looking presentable for the crowd. She weaved through her fellow netops until she found an empty bench near an intercom. She sat down with a shaky, nervous breath and took out her PET.

"I have to tell ya Zero, I'm actually getting nervous about this battle," she whispered to her navi.

"Don't worry about it; we'll be the ones coming out victorious, all you need to do is stay focused and keep your confidence up. Just leave handling the opponents to me," Zero advised.

Lyra smiled at the red navi. "Alright, but don't reject my help, okay? You'll need all the battle chip assistance you can get. Anyways, who do you think we'll be fighting?"

The red navi on the screen shrugged. "I have absolutely no clue Lyra. We'll just have to wait and see. Speaking of the battle, we should be getting called up pretty soon."

Lyra nodded in agreement with her navi and both began to go over battle strategies before the big moment of truth. For the next few minutes, tension hung in the air like a heavy fog, or at least that was Lyra's opinion. After five minutes of waiting in tense silence, she heard her name called over the intercom. She gulped nervously and walked towards the double doors in the back of the locker room. She walked through the door on the left and left it to shut on its own. She turned to face a set of stairs that led up to the stadium floor, where her opponent was waiting for her. With one final deep breath, she ascended the staircase. Despite her attempts at remaining calm, the butterflies in her stomach simply wouldn't go away. Her breathing became raspy and she began to feel the pre-battle nervousness get to her. She stopped and began to breathe hard.

"Z-zero, I don't k-know if I can do this," she stuttered.

Her navi sighed. "Just relax. We went over this in the locker room. Try not to think about the crowd; just focus on the battle. We didn't train all that time for nothing," Zero advised her.

"Thanks," she whispered gratefully.

With one final breath of assurance, she continued her ascent. She reached the top of the stairs and just about collapsed on the spot. The stands were filled to the brim with observers and net battle fanatics. She spied Lan and his friends on the front row of the stands to her right. They were joined a few seconds later by her two siblings. How they got such a great spot escaped her. They waved to her and she waved back, but that did nothing to soothe her frantic nerves.

She shut her eyes and took a breath. _Don't focus on the crowd; focus on the battle. _She opened her eyes. _Okay, here I go! No turning back now!_

She walked out of the hallway that hid her from view. The spotlights mounted in the rafters of the stadium immediately fell to her, as did every pair of eyes in the stadium. Ribbita, the MC for the whole tournament, began to introduce her as she approached the battletop.

"Ladies and gentlemen, from DenTech City, we have Lyra Matsurba and her netnavi Zero! As the granddaughter of the renowned Nathaniel Matsurba, we should expect high class battle techniques from the eldest Matsurba sibling! Her netnavi Zero is renowned for his speed and barrage attacks on the battlefield and is an A-class swordsman! Expect nothing less than an exciting battle from these two!" as the crowd went crazy, Ribbita was handed a note from outside camera view, "What's this? Folks it appears two of her younger siblings are actually competing in the tournament! Wow, we might see some sibling rivalry if Lyra gets past the first round!"

Lyra looked up at the MC Booth in surprise from her place at the battletop. _Well waddya know; Zero might get to prove to Harpuia that he is stronger. Ha, I'm coming for ya Sam! Right after this battle that is…_

"And now to introduce her opponent!" Ribbita continued.

A shape darted out from the top of the stairwell opposite to the one she'd come out of. They sprinted across the stadium floor so fast that the spotlights had no time to zero in on it. With a roar, the shape leapt into the light emanating from the battletop and stood up to full height. He had spiky red hair and brown eyes that shown with so much determination that one could argue that there was fire in them. He wore a pair of simple blue jeans and a red shirt under a white jacket. A holster for a PET hung from a belt loop on his pants. He wore a cocky smirk on his face.

"Also from DenTech city, we have a determined battler with a fiery personality equal to an inferno! To complement his already burning determination, his navi rules the battlefield with his crushing blows and sheer power, and as such should be respected. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present Taylor Johnson and his netnavi Fefnir!"

"Oh crud…" Zero muttered from his PET.

Lyra looked at her PET holster in concern. "Zero, what's wrong?"

"This could be a bit more challenging than we initially thought. Stay on your guard," he muttered in response.

Lyra, while concerned about her perplexed navi, cast her glance at her rather cocky opponent. "It's nice to meet you Taylor. I'm sure that this'll be a good battle."

Taylor smiled at her. "Call me Pyro; it's what my friends know me as. But yeah, this is gonna be fun!"

"How 'bout we stop chatting and start battling?!" a voice hollered from Pyro's PET.

"Save the trash talk for the battle Fefnir. You'll get your chance," Pyro reprimanded his navi. All he received in return was an annoyed huff.

"Hate to agree with Mr. Hothead, but we should start the battle. Don't want to keep the crowd waiting too long do we?" Lyra said in half serious. The other half was teasing.

Pyro smirked. "Sounds good! I'll show you just how dangerous fire can be!"

"And we'll just dowse those flames!" Lyra smirked back.

Both battlers pulled out their PETs from their holsters. Just as she was about to jack Zero in, he stopped her.

"Be careful Lyra. Putting out Fefnir's flames is so much harder than you think," Zero mentioned.

Lyra glanced at her navi momentarily before she nodded. "I don't know how you know that, but if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine," she turned her gaze to her opponent, "You ready?"

"You bet! I've been waiting a long time for a good battle!"

"Zero!"

"Fefnir!"

"Jack In!" both participants yelled in unison.

The extension cords plugged into the ports and both navis left the screens of their PETs only to reappear on the holographic battlefield a few seconds later. Zero appeared in a flash of red light that clung to his outline before it dispersed into particles around him.

_That's strange; he's never appeared like that before…I wonder what' up. _Lyra mused to herself.

The navi opposite to him was totally engulfed in an inferno. A rough humanoid outline was visible, but otherwise the navi's appearance was completely marred by the flames. But then the flames suddenly cut right through the middle and were put out by some invisible wind.

The remains of raging fire subsided and revealed a netnavi in red armor. Part of his red body suit was white on his stomach and thighs, but otherwise his whole color scheme was red. The armor had small gold accents on the horns of the helmet and chest plating. Much like Zero, he had gold bracelets around both his wrists and ankles. His red eyes had matching red markings underneath them. He wore a competitive smirk and summoned a huge red and white arm buster that covered his whole forearm. His fingers messed with the trigger tauntingly.

"Well, well, well. Never thought I'd see you again Zero. How life been treating ya after all the times you beat me?" he greeted as he got into a battle stance.

Zero pulled his Z-saber from its holster and fell into a battle stance as well. "Not too bad. I'm not exactly psyched about getting to deal with you again."

Fefnir smirked in a competitive manner, but it didn't mask the pure malice in his voice. "Well, I still have to pay you back for all the times you beat me you red nuisance! I hope you're ready for the beating of a lifetime!" Fefnir yelled as he charged Zero.

Before Fefnir's fist could make contact with his face, Zero nimbly dodged out of the way of the navi's rash assault with little to no difficulty. The bulky navi barreled past Zero before he turned on his heel and attempted another attack. Fefnir charged his knuckle buster as he came within close range of Zero. The white and red navi drew back his fist for another punch. Zero once again dodged to the side to evade the incoming punch, but Fefnir turned on a dime and fired a rather large orange-white fireball from his buster in Zero's direction. In a last ditch effort to avoid major damage, Zero twisted his body and shot off in a different direction.

Sadly, he didn't escape without damage. Zero was forced to kneel on the ground as he clutched his shoulder, indicating a wound. Lyra hoped the wound was just superficial, but it wasn't. His black bodysuit was smoldering and he had a large burn mark on his vest.

Fefnir, being the rash attacker he was, charged forward and attempted to strike Zero while he was down. The bulky navi didn't take into account Zero's speed. The blond-haired navi suddenly stood and sidestepped Fefnir's rash assault. Fefnir attempted to wheel around and hit Zero, but his target had dashed out of the way and gave him a slash to the back with his Z-saber. The blow sent the hotheaded navi hurling into the ground, leaving a trench in his wake. Fefnir hauled himself off the ground and shook his head side to side to clear the dirt that had muddied his helmet. He got up again and continued to attack Zero. In return, Zero continued to evade Fefnir's attacks and even throw in a few of his own, but he was gradually slowing down due to his shoulder injury.

Lyra knew her navi couldn't take much more of simply dodging Fefnir. "Area Steal, Z-buster, Recovery 100, battle chips in! Download!"

Just before one of Fefnir's blows hit Zero in the jaw, he disappeared in a flash of discolored light. Fefnir looked around the battlefield in confusion only to have one of Zero's charged shots hit him in the back. He flew forward from the force of the impact, but Lyra knew that standard shot wouldn't do much damage.

"Thanks for getting me out of there. The energy boost really helps," he said one he'd came to a stop.

"You're welcome, but thank you's will have to wait. He's gonna get back up," Lyra said grimly.

Zero nodded in return. "Yeah. This guy never gives up, no matter how many times he's beat."

Lyra nodded as both netop and netnavi returned their attention to the body of their opponent. Fefnir propped himself up on his hands and knees. Zero jumped into a battle stance immediately and Lyra's hand instinctively went to her chip case. They both kept their gazes on the navi, but their anticipation turned into confusion as Fefnir began laughing. Quietly loudly, in fact.

"Hahaha! That's more like it Zero!" he yelled with a competitive undertone. Zero cocked his head to one side in confusion as the red and white navi continued, "I thought I was going to have to make you come at me with everything you had, but now I see that I need to step it up a notch!"

"Yeah, we've been holding out on you guys. It's time we got serious, right Fefnir?!" Pyro called to his navi.

Fefnir smirked widely. "You bet! Now why don't we take this battle to the next level?!"

The two knuckle busters that covered Fefnir's forearms began to spark profusely. The sparks continued until two small balls of super-heated fire were able to be distinguished. The orbs of fire continued to expand until they occupied the entire space between Fefnir's busters.

Fefnir leveled his blasters at Zero. "Let's see if you can dodge this attack Zero!"

The fiery navi launched the two fireballs at Zero. Zero dodged to the side and shot two plasma rounds at Fefnir. Both attacks connected and Zero leapt into the air to take aim again. Fefnir burst upward out of the smoke that was produced by the plasma and gave him a downward punch on his cheek. Zero was sent hurling into the ground at speeds that seemed impossible. The blond-haired navi landed on his back with such force that the wind was knocked out of him. A crater had formed where he landed.

"Ohhh! That had to hurt! Is this the end for Zero?" Ribbita commented from the MC Booth.

"Zero, are you okay?" Lyra asked her navi frantically.

The cloud of dust settled and her navi sat up. With a groan of pain, he put one of his hands to the side of his helmet. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just reeling from that attack."

Lyra let out a sigh. "That's good. But save the chit-chat for later; he's coming at you again!"

True to her word, Fefnir was charging Zero again. His busters were fully charged and flames leaped from the fireballs in his blasters. Fefnir fired the flaming orbs at Zero, but zero quickly got up and darted out of the way without taking damage.

Fefnir let out an irritated growl. "Pyro, send me a chip!"

Fefnir's netop smiled. "You got it! Fire tower battle chip in! Download!"

Fefnir slammed one of his knuckle busters into the ground. Flames shot from the busters and later reappeared as a column of fire. The burning pillar of fire began to move towards Zero in a straight line. Zero, being as quick as he was, darted out of the way and got in close to Fefnir.

"Cybersword, Widesword, battle chips in! Download!" Lyra proclaimed as she uploaded the chips into her PET.

Zero let his buster disintegrate as his hand transformed into a glowing red Cybersword. His other hand transformed into a similar blade, but it had a cream-colored hilt and the blade was blue instead of red. The tip of the blade was also wider than that of the Cybersword. Zero became a flash of light and shot past Fefnir, effectively making contact with his two blades. Fefnir was forced to kneel on the ground as pain surged across his chest from the X shaped cross over his armor.

Zero reappeared a few meters behind Fefnir, who currently had his back to him. The red navi went from kneeling on the ground to standing as he let both of the swords revert back into his hands. He re-drew his trademark saber and settled back into a battle stance. "That's all you've got? Last I checked, you were nowhere near this weak. Are you just not as strong as I remember or are you holding out on me?" Zero said unimpressed.

Meanwhile, Fefnir growled to no one in particular. "That does it… Pyro, send me a recovery chip. I want to teach this nuisance a lesson."

Pyro nodded. "Recovery 300, battle chip in! Download!"

Fefnir glowed with pixels of blue, green, and white data. The bulky navi stood up from his kneeling position. Before Zero even had time to respond, he was nailed by two super-heated fireballs. If that wasn't enough, Fefnir darted in right after and began pounding away at the red navi as he was punched in the gut several times. Fefnir continued to pound away at Zero until he gave him an uppercut under the chin immediately followed up by a strong punch to the cheek. Zero was sent flying, but Fefnir fired yet another fireball at Zero as he was airborne. The fireball connected and Zero was hurled away from Fefnir even faster than when the punch had made contact.

Zero crashed through three pillars before he finally came to a stop on the fourth one. A crater had formed on the pillar and cracks now webbed its surface. Zero fell from the pillar with a moan of pain. He collapsed on the ground in a battered and exhausted heap. His breathing was heavy and labored as he fought to regain his breath.

"Wow, you don't see something like that every day folks! Zero has been thrown across the arena just by a few punches and a fireball. This definitely goes to show that you don't want to tick off your opponent that's for sure!"

Fefnir approached Zero at a walking pace, glaring at the blond-haired navi all the while.

"Zero! Wake up! Zero!" Lyra desperately called to her navi.

Zero groaned as he woke up from his pain induced concussion only to have one of Fefnir's feet stomp one of the cracked red fins of his helmet. Zero groaned in pain at the sudden increase in pressure on his helmet and tried to squirm out of Fefnir's reach.

Fefnir let out a huff of disbelief and continued to glare at him. "Now who's pathetic? And To think you beat me all those times in the past. You are a disgrace to all warriors. I should really just finish you off right now."

Zero tried to glare at Fefnir, but all he could manage was a weak glance.

Lyra felt tears form on the edges of her eyes. "No, please don't do it!" she screamed.

One of Fefnir's busters disappeared and he leveled the remaining one at zero. "Good-bye forever Zero."

_NO! _Lyra's mind screamed.

"ZEROOO!"

**Eclipse: Cliff hanger!**

**Lyra: Hey, friggn' shut up! Man, you and your cliffhangers…**

**Eclipse: Oh shut it Lyra. It's to build up suspense. I edited it so it would be better. Please review this because if you catch any grammatical errors I want to know about it. Also, the rest of this chapter will be concluded in the next chapter, so I will get it updated as soon as possible. As usual, any and all constructive criticism or opinions are welcomed!**

**Lyra: And don't forget to review!**


	6. Ch 6: Second Round Splash

**Eclipse: Sorry for the long wait! I've been busy!**

**Lyra: That's not true, you've been banned from using the computer during the week idiot!**

**Eclipse: Hey, you can't insult me! I created you!**

**Lyra: And?**

**Eclipse: *sigh* This is getting me nowhere. Anyways, for those who don't know, I've made edits to the last chapter so it should be a bit better, but I can't guarantee anything. Your opinions matter so if you have anything you'd either like to see or have any advice, please either review or PM me. Standard disclaimer is on the first chapter so on with the story!**

**Chapter 6: Second Round Splash**

Fefnir's buster was leveled at Zero's head. The unfortunate navi at the end of the gun glared weakly at its barrel as a super-heated fireball formed inside.

Lyra was frozen. Her eyes were cloudy and she had a distant look on her face. _What am I supposed to do?! I don't want Zero to get deleted! What do I do what do I do what do I do?! WHAT DO I DO?!_

Back on the battlefield, Fefnir smirked. "Good-bye you pathetic navi."

Something clicked in Lyra. A sudden determination filled her body and her eyes re-focused. _No, I won't let this happen! _"Dream Aura, Area Steal, Recovery 200, Attack +50, battle chips in! Download!" Lyra cried out in defiance.

A bright red light engulfed him and an aura of a soft pink shade surrounded him. The fireball that would have made contact with him was deflected off the aura shield and shot towards Fefnir instead. An explosion occurred upon contact and Zero's assaulter was blown backwards. The navi back flipped through the air until he came to a stop on his stomach. He pushed himself up on his forearms and looked at Zero in shock.

"What the heck just happened?!" Fefnir roared in disbelief. He pushed himself off the ground and continued to stare at his still down opponent.

Meanwhile, Zero hadn't even twitched. With the initial danger gone, the weakened navi groaned and pushed himself on his forearms. He glowed softly with blue, green, and white pixels before disappearing in yet another flash of discolored light. He reappeared behind Fefnir. The hotheaded navi turned to face his opponent with a look of shock and possible fear plastered onto his face. Zero smirked and charged forward, his trademark saber once again drawn and ready to slice Fefnir to pieces.

Zero glowed with bright red energy and slashed Fefnir before bolting past him. Fefnir let out a gasp as though the wind had been knocked out of him. Zero stood a few feet in behind Fefnir, standing perfectly straight with his blade at rest by his side.

Fefnir's eyes were wide with shock. "H-how could I be beaten again?" He began to disappear, "How…?"

Data poured from Fefnir's chest as the wound Zero inflicted appeared as a gash running diagonally across his chest. Fefnir's knees buckled under him and he collapsed. The rash navi disappeared in a flurry of data. An automated voice echoed around the battlefield. "Fefnir logging out."

Ribbita stood up from her seat. "That's it folks! The winners are Lyra and her netnavi Zero!"

Wild cheers erupted from the audience as Lyra jacked out her exhausted navi. She pulled her cord from the port and let it reel in the extra length of cord that was let hanging out. She smiled as her navi reappeared on her PET's home screen.

"Zero that was awesome. You were awesome! I can't believe we won!" Lyra said happily.

Zero let out a sigh but he still smirked at his netop. "Yeah, but I tell ya, he had me on the ropes there. For a second I thought we were going to lose."

"Well we didn't," Lyra turned her attention to her opponent, who was muttering inaudible things to his PET. "Hey Pyro!"

Her opponent's head shot up. "Yeah?"

"Great battle. We really ought to do that again sometime!" she said cheerily.

Pyro smiled and nodded in return turning away from her. He walked off the raised platform that the battletop sat on and made his way back down the stairs he'd entered from. Lyra remained rooted to her spot with a smile on her face for a moment before she let out a happy sigh. The relieved and elated net battler turned and walked back down the steps just like her opponent had moments before.

The moment she got out of the arena, she was tackled by her three younger siblings. While they hugged their older sister half to death, the rest of Lyra's friends walked up.

"C'mon guys, get off of me!" she said with a hint of playfulness in her voice.

"Aww! But sis!" her siblings whined.

"But sis nothing. Get off of me!" she commanded with an air of playfulness in her voice.

Ash, Lee, and Elizabeth reluctantly climbed off Lyra, groaning as they did. Lyra sat up with an elated and happy smile on her face. She stood and mock glared at her overly-excited siblings as Lan approached her.

"You won't believe this Lyra! Your brothers had to face off in the first round!" Lan told her.

Lyra turned to look at the brown-haired netop. She looked surprised. "Really? Who won?"

"Sam did."

"Can't say I'm surprised. Trey might be good, but Sam has more experience than he does," Lyra sighed, her eyes shut.

"Yeah. You did great out there! Your brothers' math was nowhere near as grueling as your match was!" Dex complemented.

Lyra opened her eyes and glanced over at her friends. "Thanks. I'm telling you guys though, we almost-WHAT THE FREAKING HECK?!"

"Yo!" Pyro said as he threw his arm around Lyra's neck.

"Hey, PAWS OFF!" Lyra yelled as she judo-flipped Pyro over her shoulder.

Her friends and younger siblings began snickering, barely able to hold back their laughter at the funny sight.

"Owww! That was unnecessary!" the overly enthusiastic guy whined as he sat up.

"Oh no-that was totally necessary! There's a reason people don't sneak up on me!" she screamed at him.

"Lyra, you're overreacting," Zero scolded from her PET.

"I'm overreacting?! He's the one who snuck up on me!" she retorted as she glared at Pyro.

Her opponent raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry! You go to DenTech Academy, right?!" he asked her.

"Yeah, what of it?" she growled, still glaring.

"Well, I go there too. We're in the same grade but we have different homerooms. I think I saw you once or twice in the hallway."

Lyra put a finger on her temple. "Hmmm… yeah, I'm pretty sure I've seen you before. Anyway, why'd you come over here?"

Pyro grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "Well, you see, I came here with some friends of mine, but I can't seem to find them, so I was wondering if I could hang out with you guys. Is that alright?"

Lyra smiled. "I guess so," she turned on her heel and ran off towards a stadium, "C'mon, the match isn't coming to us!" she yelled over her shoulder.

"Wait up!" her friends yelled as they pursued her.

*Elsewhere*

Three of the original four figures stood under the same tree just as they had before.

"So Pyro lost. Hmph, can't say I'm surprised." One of the females snorted.

"Well, that was his mission in the first place. Though he did come uncomfortably close to beating them," the male voice agreed.

"No matter. He did his job well enough. You're up next," their "boss" said.

"Remember, do not win. Only test them," the male voice advised.

The girl beat her fist into her other palm. "Don't worry, I don't intend to win, but let me have a little fun. After all, my navi has a score to settle with Zero."

Their boss sighed in defeat. "Fine. But remember: do not win. Understand?"

The other girl rolled her eyes. "Yes ma'am," she turned away from her comrades, "It's time to get this show on the road."

*Back with Lyra and her friends*

"I'm telling you, it's not funny!" Pyro yelled in irritation.

Everyone was cracking up at the poor red haired battler as they headed to the other stadium. Even Zero and Harpuia couldn't stop laughing.

"Lyra judo flipping me over her shoulder wasn't funny! Stop laughing!" the fiery net battler shouted above the laughter of his friends. Everyone stopped and began laughing even harder at his comment.

"C'mon, you gotta admit, it was pretty funny! Have a laugh for once!" Fefnir barely got the words out of his mouth before he exploded in laughter again.

At this point Pyro's cheeks were going red in embarrassment. That only made everyone laugh harder. Lyra was almost to the point of doubling over, Lan was rolling around on the ground laughing, Yai and Maylu were using Dex as a sort of support just to remain standing, and Dex and Tory were laughing to the point that they were crying. The netnavis were a different story, but they had the same problems. Zero and Megaman were doubling over since they were laughing so hard, Harpuia was sitting on the ground with his hands over his stomach, Iceman and Roll were standing and pointing at the unfortunate netop, and Glyde was lightly chuckling. Gutsman, however, was lying on his back laughing his head off.

Lyra looked down at her PET with tears in her eyes. She spotted Gutsman and felt herself about to crack up again. "Talk about LOL!" She commented before she burst into laughter again.

"You're telling me!" Zero shakily responded. He was just about to pass out he was laughing so hard.

After a few seconds they calmed down and continued on their way.

"So who are you battling next?" Lan asked Lyra.

"Dunno. Could be anyone, but if I had to guess, it'll most likely be someone I don't know," Lyra answered.

"Yeah, but with our luck, they'll probably be tough. I have the worst luck in the world when it comes to these things," Zero added.

Lyra looked down at her PET again. She plucked it out of its container and looked at her netnavi. "Hey Zero, I forgot to ask, but how did you already know Fefnir? It can't be a coincidence that you and Harpuia know him, so what gives? Are you hiding something?"

Zero's look hardened. "Lyra we need to focus on the battle, so stop asking pointless questions."

Lyra's eyes narrowed at her navi. _Yep, he's definitely hiding something. I have to get it out of him somehow, but he always changes the subject. Oh well, ask him later. _"Alright, let's just get to the stadium and get ready; I don't want to keep our opponent waiting."

Zero nodded in return and she slid her PET back into its holster. "I'll meet up with you guys later. I have to win this match first."

Maylu nodded. "We'll be rooting for you Lyra."

Her siblings rushed up to her and hugged her around the waist.

"Be careful sis," Elizabeth told her.

"Don't you dare lose!" Lee nearly shouted at her. Lyra smiled warmly at her brother.

"Please win this match sis! I want to see you and Sam face off!" Ash piped up.

Lyra bent down in front of her siblings. "Don't worry. Zero and I will be the ones to come out on top. You can count on that."

Her siblings nodded and ran off to the main entrance. She followed in after them at a slower pace but took a turn down a separate hallway that led to the locker rooms. Much like the last stadium, she walked down a set of stairs until she reached a set of double doors. Since she was in no hurry, she pushed them open and walked in rather leisurely. There weren't many net battlers in the locker room since she was so early. Lyra found a bench to sit down on that was against the wall of the room. She sat down and leaned back, allowing herself to slouch despite her usual no slouching policy. She pulled out her PET and Zero was instantly on screen.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"After this tournament is over, do you think you could tell me the truth?" she asked.

"The truth?" he questioned.

"Yeah, the truth about how you really know Harpuia and Fefnir," Zero averted his eyes, "Not some lie or half-truth you made up. As your netop and your friend, I want to know," she finished.

Zero went silent as he allowed himself to mill the question over in his head. Lyra was on the edge of the bench as she waited for an answer. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Zero spoke again.

"Lyra, there's a lot of stuff you don't know about me. There are things I know that most humans can't even wrap their minds around," Lyra let out a defeated sigh. He wasn't going to tell her, "But," her eyes lit up with hope again, "Since you are my netop and my closest friend, I'll tell you. But not right now, okay?"

Lyra smiled. "Okay. I won't pester you anymore. After all, what are friends for?"

Unknown to her, a net battler on the other side of the room was listening to their whole conversation. She had light blue hair and bright green eyes. She was wearing a simple white skirt and a white spaghetti strap tank top under a see-through turquoise skirt. She smirked at the netop and her navi across the room.

"Do you think he'll really tell her?" the girl asked her navi, which was inside her PET at the moment.

"Yeah; Zero's always been true to his word. He'll tell her," her navi confirmed.

The netop nodded. "Well, we'd better be going. Match will be starting soon."

"That's probably a good idea."

The girl left, leaving Lyra and Zero to discuss their strategy and techniques.

*Five minutes later*

In the five minutes she and Zero had been talking, netops had been entering and leaving the room as their names were called over the intercom. Some battles didn't even last forty seconds.

As Lyra waited, she heard her name called over the excited chatter of the locker room. She stood and took one last look at her PET. "Zero, let's do our best and hopefully win this one too."

"Don't worry; we'll win. Now let's go!" Zero responded.

Lyra chuckled and exited out of the double doors in the back of the room.

For the second time that day, she ascended the stairs only to be met by the cheers and shouts of an excited crowd. The spotlight fell on her again and she approached the battletop, her breathing even and her confidence high. A winning smile was plastered onto her face.

Ribbita cleared her throat. "Everyone, this show can finally get underway! Coming straight out of a hard battle only to dive into another battle can be tough, but I doubt Lyra and Zero will let this stop them! After their exciting battle with Pyro and Fefnir, can these two pull yet another win out of the bag? We'll let their battling do the talking!" Ribbita turned to look at the other battler who was coming out of the staircase, "Her opponent is one that knows no bounds. Just like the freezing winds of the cold north and the ferocious waters of the oceans, this netbattling pair has been washing opponents away like a tidal wave! Ladies and gentlemen I give you Tsunami Oceana and her navi Leviathan!"

The crowd went wild as Lyra's opponent stepped up to the battletop. She had light blue hair and fierce green eyes. She wore a simple white tank top under a see-through turquoise shirt and a white skirt. A PET hung from a white fanny pack around her waist.

"Great, first Fefnir and now Leviathan. _Awesome._" Zero huffed in annoyance.

Lyra chuckled at her navi's reaction. Sure, she was curious about how Zero knew Leviathan, but he'd promised her answers and she trusted his word. Lyra had never heard Zero use sarcasm, so hearing it was a little amusing to her.

Tsunami looked Lyra in the eye. "I heard you beat Pyro. Really can't say that he's a tough opponent. After all, he is quite the idiot, just like his navi."

Somewhere out in the audience, two annoyed voices yelled back, "I'M NOT AN IDIOT!"

Lyra glanced in the direction of the voices with an amused smile on her face. She looked back to her opponent. "How do you know Pyro?"

Tsunami smiled. "Oh, he and I go to the same school as you, so we've had a few run-ins with each other. Anyways, I would be preparing to get washed away!"

Lyra smirked. "You're on!"

"Leviathan!"

"Zero!"

"Jack in! Power up!"

Zero, just like the last battle, appeared in a flash of red-white light. But before he could see his opponent, a freezing wind blew through the arena. Zero shivered and rubbed his arms in an attempt to warm himself up.

"What the heck?" he asked no one in particular.

Around him, the whole landscape had been turned to ice. Pillars were cover with ice and the ground was frozen solid with a light layer of snow over it. The sky remained the same, but other than that, the whole battlefield had changed.

"What do you think Zero? Kind of suits me, don't you think?"

Zero turned around to see a navi standing atop one of the frozen pillars. She wore mostly blue armor with white accents. The design of her armor was similar to Fefnir's, but instead of having armor on her chest, she had a vest on. An x design was outlined in red was on the front of the vest. She had fair skin and light blue eyes. Small bits of ice floated around her, making her form appear to sparkle. Zero felt a sweat drop form on the back of his head.

"Great, first Fefnir, and now you. Why does the world hate me?" Zero groaned.

Leviathan got an anime tick mark on her forehead. She leapt off the pillar and stalked up to Zero. Thinking she was going to attack, Zero backed away. Instead she stopped a few inches in front of him.

Everyone heard a resounding slap across the stadium. Everyone glanced awkwardly at the screen. Even Lyra and Tsunami were surprised by Leviathan's behavior.

Zero held his now red cheek. He winced as he applied pressure to it. Leviathan, on the other hand, looked about ready to explode.

"Ouch, that had to hurt! I don't know what he did to deserve that, but for all you men out there, this is why you don't tick girls off!" Ribbita commented.

The look on the blue navi's face was enough to make zero cringe. "What, are you saying you don't like having me around?! What a jerk you are! I never expected this out of the _legendary _Zero."

Zero groaned and stared lamely at his opponent. "Uh, Leviathan?"

"WHAT?!" she yelled at him.

"We're supposed to be fighting right now," he said.

Leviathan blinked a few times before smiling sheepishly. "Oh sorry! My bad!"

"Yeah right…" Zero muttered under his breath.

"Alright, let's go!" Leviathan proclaimed. She held out her right hand and a large halberd appeared in it. She twirled it a few times before settling into a battle stance.

Zero's face went slack as he drew his saber. He positioned the blade out in front of him in a battle ready position.

Leviathan smirked. "This won't end like last time Zero! You're going down!"

The female navi charged, the sharp end of her weapon pointed at Zero like a spear. Zero braced himself for the unnaturally fast attack. Just before the halberd made contact, he parried the blow aside with his saber. The scarlet navi jumped a few feet away to put some distance between himself and his opponent. Meanwhile, Leviathan skidded backwards. Once she got a grip on the icy ground, she attempted to charge Zero again. Zero readied his saber in anticipation for her next attack, but she did something unexpected. Instead of charging Zero straight on, she darted off to Zero's right and out of his line of sight. Zero looked around the battlefield frantically, but all he got was a well placed blow to his back. The red navi rocketed forward, landing face-first on the ice. He slid for a few seconds on the slick surface before he smashed into an ice pillar. He let out a grunt as his back hit the pillar of ice. A dent was created and some of the ice fell off the pillar, but most of it was still there.

After a moment of some light-headedness, Zero shakily stood, his feet slipping on the slick ice of the field. He raised his saber again as the blue navi rocketed towards him.

Back with the two netops, Lyra was biting her lip hard. She had a very frustrated expression on her face as she watched her navi struggle to survive the icy battlefield. Tsunami, on the other hand, wore a confident smirk. Lyra looked at her PET's screen in irritation as she continued to watch her partner get battered by Leviathan's flurry of blows.

_What do I do? The ice hinders all of his movements and it's only helping Leviathan! What do I do?! _The frustrated netop thought.

"Water Tower, battle chip in! Download!" Tsunami announced.

Lyra snapped out of her train of thought with a jolt. _Oh no! Zero!_

Meanwhile, Leviathan slammed her hand into the ground. A large tower of water erupted from under it and began to move towards Zero. Since he was unable to dodge the incoming tower of water, Zero was caught in the upwards current of the geyser. He was thrown out of the top of pillar of water. Despite being very unbalanced, the scarlet navi back-flipped through the air and landed on the icy ground smoothly. He sneezed the moment after he hit the ground. _Great, I'm going to have a cold for a week after this! _Zero thought in annoyance. The drenched navi settled back into a battle stance and faced his opponent. Leviathan smirked and charged zero again, lashing out with her halberd all the while. Zero parried the blows away from him, but he, along with his netop, knew he couldn't keep up the defense for long; his battle with Fefnir proved that. He parried another blow from Leviathan away before jumping a few feet back.

"Lyra, you need to figure something out fast! I can't battle like this!" he yelled at his netop.

"I know I know! Just keep Leviathan from hitting you until I figure out how to get rid of the ice!" Lyra yelled back.

As Zero and Lyra had been talking Leviathan was charging up her weapon with cold energy. Once it was fully charged, the female navi looked at zero with a smirk plastered onto her features.

"Hey Zero!" She yelled.

The red navi looked at her with a look of shock on his face.

"Take this! Go ice dragon!"

Two light blue dragons shot out of Leviathan's halberd. Their red eyes gleamed as they brandished their icy teeth. The blue serpents rocketed towards zero. The red navi nailed his eyes on one of the two dragons. He continued to stare as a somewhat reckless and stupid plan formulated itself in his mind.

As the two dragons approached, zero charged the dragon he'd been staring at before. Using the ice to get some extra momentum, he leapt high above his target and landed on its head. The dragon began thrashing as the red navi held onto its horns for dear life. The other dragon turned its attention to the navi on its partners back and charged towards it in an attempt to knock Zero off. Zero smirked and leapt off the ice dragon as the other one crashed into it.

He turned his body in the air and yelled to his netop. "Now Lyra!"

Lyra nodded. "Heat sword, battle chip in! Download!"

The orange blade replace Zero's right hand as he rocketed towards the two entangled beasts. With one clean slice, he cleaved the icy serpents in two. The beasts dispersed into data and he smirked triumphantly at Leviathan, who was biting her lip in frustration after witnessing Zero dispose of her two pets.

"Darn you Zero! You always manage to do something like this!" she yelled at him.

Zero just smirked as he watched his opponent get rather frustrated and very red in the face from anger. "You know, you could just give up and spare yourself some embarrassment. "

Leviathan's face contorted in rage. "That does it! No more holding back! Tsunami!"

The respective netop nodded. "I'm on it! Cyclone, battle chip in! Download!"

Leviathan held her hand out in front of her, her palm facing Zero. Wind began swirling around her. Before long, a small tornado surrounded Leviathan. Chunks of ice that were knocked off of pillars and the ground were picked up by the wind. They were drawn into the windstorm, making it much more hazardous than it already was.

The swirling column of wind began to move towards Zero slowly. Even though it was moving slow, zero doubted he could escape. Instead of panicking, Zero smiled.

"Lyra, care to give me a hand here?" he asked with a warrior's smirk on his face.

Lyra smirked as well. "Heck yes! Fire tower, battle chip in! Download!"

Zero, mimicking Leviathan, slammed his palm into the ground. Fire erupted all around him and surged outwards like a fiery tsunami. The wave of lava engulfed the whole field, including the tornado. The twister took in the lava and began to dissipate due to the weakness of the navi inside. The wind subsided and Leviathan landed with her backside on the ground. Multiple burns and singe marks covered her body from where the molten magma had seared her.

On the other side of the field, Zero was standing erect with a smirk on his face. The ice that had once covered the field was gone, so now he could fight on even ground.

"Your ice field's gone Leviathan, so why don't you get up and face me like you have in the past. After all, these people came here for a good fight!" Zero yelled to the blue navi.

Leviathan's eyes were shaded as she shakily stood. Zero was beginning to wonder if something was wrong, but his worries quickly disappeared when Leviathan began to crack a smile. A few seconds later, she was flat out laughing.

"Oh Zero! I've missed fighting you! You're right, let's give these people a good show!" she laughed.

Zero nodded in approval and readied his trademark saber. Leviathan raised her halberd and charged. Zero made sure his stance was firm as Leviathan weapon made contact with his. Soon, blows were being exchanged back and forth between the two navis as they rushed around the battlefield making one move after the next. At this point the crowd was cheering loudly and even Ribbita was getting caught up in the excitement of the battle.

"Well folks, it looked like Zero was done for there for a minute, but now he's back up and exchanging blows at speeds that seem impossible! Oh, I can't wait to see how this turns out!" Ribbita squealed.

"Attack +10, battle chip in! Download!" Lyra yelled.

Zero glowed with a small red aura as his attack power was augmented. He dashed forward with incredible speed and began to land blows at a much faster and stronger rate. All Leviathan could do was block wave after wave of his attacks.

Lyra smiled. _They're backed into a corner. It's time to finish this! _"Zero!"

Zero looked back at her and smiled. "I'm on it!"

The blond navi leapt backwards several feet and waited for his next command. Meanwhile, Lyra had pulled out a battle chip.

"It ends here! Z-saber, battle chip in! Download!" Lyra yelled.

Zero's saber began to glow brighter as the internal power source grew. The saber's blade extended three feet, leaving the red navi with a six foot long saber. He lifted it with no problem.

Zero charged forward, his saber trailing behind him as he charged. Leviathan smiled widely and also charged forward; if she was going out, it might as well be with a bang.

As the female navi charged, she shot ice crystals from her halberd. Zero dodged in between the large shards of ice, cutting them as he passed by. Leviathan shot three ice dragons as well, but the result was the same. Now the two navis were separated by only about three feet. Zero was staring at Leviathan with an expressionless face as he closed in for the kill.

Leviathan smirked happily. _You've made my day Zero. You've given me a truly exciting battle and I thank you for that. It was an honor to battle against you again._

As Zero slashed at Leviathan's body as he passed her, all the blue navi did was smile. She mouthed two inaudible words, even though no one, not even zero, would hear her, she whispered, "Thank you…"

Leviathan disappeared in a flurry of data as an automated voice proclaimed that she'd logged out. Her netop let out a sigh and walked over to Lyra as she jacked Zero out.

Lyra looked at the girl in front of her. "Great match; you really gave Zero and I a run for our money!"

Tsunami smirked. "Of course, we weren't going to let you win without a fight!"

"What do you mean? There's no way you'd have known I was gonna win!" Lyra gasped in confusion.

"That fire tower chip did more damage to me than I let on and zero knew it. Still, that battle made my day," Leviathan said from her PET.

"Well," Tsunami held her hand out to Lyra, "That was a really exciting battle! Waddya say we battle again sometime?"

Lyra thought about the question for a moment. The crowd went silent as the girl figured out her answer. A moment later, she opened her eyes and smiled. "Of course! It would be an honor to battle you again! I'm looking forward to it!"

Lyra took Tsunami's hand and shook it. Both girls smiled at each other. All around them, the crowd burst into wild cheers.

Ribbita made the closing comments. "That was truly an amazing battle! These two opponents really put it all out there today! Ladies and gentlemen, please give a round of applause for both these amazing battlers!"

With that, both net battlers received a standing ovation by the crowd, accompanied by wild cheers. The two girls looked around in confusion for a moment before they shrugged, put on a winning smile, and waved to the crowd as they left.

*Elsewhere*

The two remaining figures watched the battle from the video feed.

The male had an approving expression on his face. "She went down with honor. She did well."

The female nodded in affirmation. "Yes, I agree with your opinion. Let's hope they're ready for the next round. Things are about to get more complicated."

The other figure also nodded. "I agree. It will be them against us. Are you ready?"

His boss huffed in irritation. "Of course I'm ready; why do you think the net police selected me for this job?! I should be the one asking you that!"

The male shrunk visibly. "Sorry."

The female let out a sigh. "It's fine. Just be prepared for anything because this time, we won't be holding back."

**Eclipse: And done! Gees, I am so sorry this took so long to update!**

**Lyra: Really, she is. She got banned from computer usage during the week. We have no clue when the next chapter's going to be up, but we hope that she'll get it done over the weekend.**

**Zero: Yeah, or else she'll never get the next story done…**

**Eclipse: No spoilers or else the both of you are dead. Anyways, please review this because I haven't written in quite a little while, so my writing may be a bit off. If you happen to find any mistakes or would like to give your opinions on this story, please PM me or just straight up review. Either works.**

**Zero: Yeah, yeah, you all get the point, as she mentioned in the first segment! Bye for now and review or else I **_**will**_** hunt you down with my saber!**

**Eclipse: Ignore him.**


	7. Ch 7: Sibling Alliance pt 1

**Eclipse: Okay, chapter 7. Wow.**

**Lyra: Hey, not bad. I gotta admit this is actually a good amount of work. You've been working on this for what, two months?**

**Eclipse: Yes, but please shut up! I've seen people who update every day! I mean seriously, you and I have absolutely no room to talk!**

**Lyra: Who cares, you're just a novice. You've made progress and that's all there is to it!**

**Eclipse: Fine. But seriously, I really don't have room to boast. Anyways, I do not own Megaman in any way, shape, or form, but I do own my OCs. So I'm just gonna shut up and let this story start.**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Sibling Alliance**

Lyra walked out of the stadium with Tsunami by her side. Both battlers were smiling from ear to ear because of their exciting battle. As the two girls reached the main lobby, Lan and his friends jogged up to greet her and her opponent.

Sadly, it would not be a happy reunion.

Lyra's three siblings were the first to rush forward to greet their sister.

"Sis!" Lee cried out.

Lyra was taken aback by the panic in her brother's voice. He sounded panicked and worried. As a result, she too jogged up to meet them.

"What is it? What's wrong?" she asked in worry.

Lan was the next to answer. "It's World Three! They're in the N1 Grand Prix!"

Zero growled from his PET. "Those jerks…I knew they would be here!"

Lyra glanced at her PET in worry. She'd never heard Zero's voice so full of rage and malice. It worried her.

"Zero, we knew from the start that they would be here. I don't see what the big deal is," she said in an attempt to calm her navi.

"Not a big deal? NOT A BIG DEAL?! Are you freaking kidding me?! World Three is the world's biggest current threat and you say it's not a big deal?! What is wrong with you?!" Zero yelled at her.

Lyra flinched at her netnavi's outburst. She'd never seen him so angry in the time she'd spent with his. With a soft sigh, she pulled her PET from its holster and looked her angry netnavi in the eye. "Zero, that's not what I meant. What I'm saying is that we shouldn't worry about World Three until we actually face them. Until then, we should just focus on our own battles."

Zero fell silent. After a few moments of silence, zero took a small breath and sighed. He looked back at his netop with apologetic eyes. "Sorry, I just don't want them coming anywhere near innocents."

Lyra smiled. "It's understandable Zero, but you can't protect everyone at once. It's impossible. You have to save the ones you can and remember the ones you can't. I learned this when my parents… when my parents…"

Lyra sniffled a bit. She felt tears sting the edges of her eyes. She immediately wiped them away with her hand, but just the sheer thought of her deceased family made the tears reappear. Zero observed his netop with an emotionless expression. Even though he appeared to be unfeeling regarding the matter, emotions of his own raged under the surface. Emotions and memories of a life long past echoed through his heart and mind. At the end of it all, an image young girl with blue eyes and blond hair smiled at him from a memory.

It took a lot of self control, but the red navi managed not to break down right then and there. He could mull over his past memories later; right now, his netop needed his support and advice, and as her friend and trusted partner, he would be there for her.

"Lyra, you don't need to say any more. I get it. And you're right; you should try to save as many as you can. It's impossible to protect everyone," in a lower tone, he added, "I know that all too well…"

Lyra's sadness turned into confusion at her navi's sentence. _I know that all too well…? What does he- wait, no. Answers after big tournament, not right now idiot. Just go with it._

Lyra wiped her tears and smiled at her navi again. "Good to know that you understand," she turned to her friends, "Now how did you find out that World Three was in the N1 Grand Prix?"

"Well, I ended up battling Wackoman and his netop Maddy while Lan was up against Mr. Match and Torchman," Maylu explained.

Lyra crossed her arms over her chest. "Okay. I'm presuming they both lost since you're both advancing, correct?"

Lan responded with a nod. "Yeah, but Mr. Match said something strange to me after the battle."

"Oh?"

"He said 'Tell Dr. Matsurba's granddaughter to watch her back. World Three will get the legendary navi from her, just you wait and see!' I really couldn't make heads or tails of what he said."

Lyra was left aghast. "But why are they after Zero? Since when was he considered legendary?"

"I can answer that."

Every head turned to two figures approaching the group. One was a male. He matted silver hair and grass green eyes that seemed to constantly analyze the people before him. He wore ninja clothes and actually looked like he could just meld into the shadows on the ground and disappear at any time. The girl next to him however, was a different story entirely. She had short cut black hair and piercing icy blue eyes that bore into Lyra. She wore a black tank top with cameo cargo pants. She wore black wrist bands and combat boots. At her waist was a holster for a PET.

When they were three feet away from the group, they stopped. The girl stared directly at Lyra with her cold eyes. Lyra gulped and almost took a step back, but Zero told her not to, so she stood firm.

Tsunami and Pyro surged past Lyra and her friends until they were right in front of the girl.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were going to stay out of sight until the battle!" Tsunami growled.

Lyra looked to her former opponent in shock. Her mind went into overdrive as she slowly put the pieces together. Pyro said he'd came here with some of his friends, which he'd lost track of, and then there was the fact that Tsunami knew Pyro. And now they both are familiar with the army girl and the ninja dude.

As Lyra was piecing together the complicated puzzle, the girl had answered Tsunami's question. "We chose to show ourselves because she deserves an answer to her question," she answered, gesturing towards Lyra as she did.

Lyra snapped out of her trance as the girl addressed her. She straightened up and looked the girl across from her in the eye. The girl stared back resolutely and walked over to her.

"Lyra Matsurba," Lyra gasped as the girl said her full name, "How long have you known Zero?"

Lyra blinked in surprise. "I've known him for a good two weeks. Why do you ask?"

"Hmm… I see," the girl paused, then spoke again, "Lyra, I can't tell you everything, but Zero is not who you believe him to be. He is something much more than that," Lyra felt her eyes widen as the girl continued, "Your grandfather may have revived him, but you still know nothing about who he truly is. I cannot tell you why World Three is after him because that is something your navi needs to tell you himself. Despite that, I will say this;" she walked towards Lyra until she was right next to her, "Zero was once a living being, capable of feeling and thinking for himself. He once existed in the real world. Try to think about what you think of him before you decide to trust him."

With that, she walked away with her cohort following close behind. Lyra was left standing there in shock at this seemingly impossible truth. She looked to her PET, where Zero had fallen silent. Her eyes filled with concern as she heard her navi sigh. _Zero, just who-no- what are you? Why did she say that you once existed in this world? Just what are you hiding that would make me question my belief in you?_

"Lyra, what was that all about?" Maylu asked her tentatively.

"Honestly, I don't even know anymore…" Lyra answered in confusion.

"Hey sis!"

Lyra turned towards the shout to see Sam and Trey jog over. The both of them had goofy smiles on their faces.

"Hey sis, what's up?" Sam asked.

Lyra shook her head side to side a few times to clear her confusion. Once she'd done that, she turned to her siblings and smiled. "Nothing much. How have your battles been going?"

"They've been great! Harpuia and I totally mopped the floor with our opponents. How 'bout you?

Lyra glanced at some tables on her right before looking back at her brothers. "They've been fun, but what do you say we sit down at those tables over there? I'll fill you in once we're settled

The group went and sat down at the tales Lyra had pointed out to them. They got settled, but Lan and the others had to leave for their battles, leaving only Lyra, Tsunami, Pyro, and her siblings behind. With the rest of the group gone, Lyra filled her brothers in on her battles and victories over Pyro and Tsunami. Both boys nodded at her accomplishments with some input from the navis themselves. This continued until Sam said something rather worrying.

"Lyra, there's something you should know," he started.

His sister leaned forward. "Oh no, it's a girl isn't it? Sam, I've told you before that-"

"No, no! That's not what I was going to say! Let me finish my thought!" he said in defense.

Lyra blushed. "Sorry Sam. Please continue."

Sam inhaled, and then exhaled. "They've switched the tournament to a partner battle style."

"They've what?!" Lyra yelled as she slammed both her hands on the tabletop.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, I found out just a few minutes ago. Turns out that we're partners in the first round."

Lyra glared at him. "Great, now I won't get to kick your lousy butt. Darn it…"

An indignant frown appeared on Sam's face. "You want to kick my butt. Ha, I should say the same to you!"

"Oh yeah?!"

"Yeah!"

Zero was finally fed up with the both of them. "The both of you just shut up!"

Both siblings fell silent at Zero's sudden outburst. That was the second time that day that he'd blown up in their faces. Lyra felt unrestrained worry shoot through her and she brought out her PET.

"Zero, are you alright?" Lyra asked him.

"…" he mumbled something incoherent. His eyes were shaded by the rim of his helmet, so Lyra couldn't make eye contact with him.

"What?"

"I doubt he wants to admit he's not doing so well."

Lyra turned to her brother, who had his PET out. Harpuia was standing on the screen with a frown on his face.

"He's suffering from some old memories. I know you don't know much about him, but we'll explain after your match, even if Zero doesn't want us to. After all, you deserve to know his past and who he was. The same goes for me, Fefnir, and Leviathan,"

The respective netops looked down at their navis.

"What do you mean Harpuia? I don't understand," Sam quizzed.

Harpuia sighed. "Sam, there are things that you didn't need to know before. But now that World Three is after Zero, everyone here deserves to know what we are, including those that aren't involved. It could mean life or death."

Sam was left dumbfounded by what his navi had said, and Pyro and Tsunami had the same reaction.

Lyra then remembered something Tsunami said. "Hey Tsunami?"

Leviathan's netop looked at her. "Yeah?"

"That girl you spoke to, do you know her? I mean, by the way you spoke to her, it sounded like you knew her quite well. Can you tell me how you know her and that guy who was with her?" Lyra asked.

Tsunami looked hesitant to answer, but after a second or two, she let out a sigh. "Yeah, I know her. Her name is Reina Yuzuki. She was sent by the Net Police to keep an eye on you during the tournament. Her other mission was to test you to see if you were worthy of being Zero's netop. That's why we're here. She chose us because we were experienced battlers, but now it looks like she called us together for a completely different reason. The guy that was with her was Leon Shadow, otherwise known as Shadow. He's basically a ninja and he's great at spying on people. He isn't really the reserved quiet type, but he isn't exactly hyper either. More like somewhere in between. That's pretty much it."

While Lyra was in minor shock, Zero nodded in understanding. "I see. I have a good idea of who Shadow's netnavi is, but that Reina girl is a complete mystery to me. I have absolutely no idea of what she can do, so I'm not even going to try guessing."

By this time Lyra had came out of her stunned trance. "Who cares about what she can do?! We're going to beat her and Shadow and get to the finals! Then you can tell me about your past Zero!"

"About that-um…"

"Don't worry about it!"

Zero looked at her in surprise. "Huh?"

"I don't care about who or what you were in the past! You're Zero and you're one of the best friends I've ever had, so I don't care that you were different in the past. I believe in you and who you are and nothing is going to change that!" Lyra said confidently.

"Well said," Harpuia commented.

Zero, who was still in shock, stared at her incredulously. He didn't know what to make of what she said. He shut his open mouth and chuckled. _Guess I'm not so alone after all…_

At Zero's sudden change in attitude, Lyra became worried again. "Zero?"

Her navi looked up at her and smiled. "Thanks Lyra. I never thought that I'd ever have a friend who didn't care about who I was, so thank you."

Lyra felt a wide grin form on her face. "You're welcome Zero. Now let's go kick some butt!"

Zero nodded enthusiastically and Lyra looked to her partner for her battle. "You ready Sam?"

"You bet! Harpuia?" Sam said.

"I've never been more ready for battle!" his navi responded.

"Then let's get going!" Zero said in excitement.

"Good luck guys!" Ash cheered.

"You'd better win or else!" Lee put in.

"Be careful!" Lizzie chimed.

Lyra nodded and sprinted towards the stadium where the battle would take place with Sam hot on her heels. Both siblings barreled into the stadium lobby and rocketed down a hallway and a set of steps and into the locker room. They burst through the double doors and bent over. Then they both began to pant from the long sprint there. Many other net battlers wandered around the room aimlessly as they waited for the time when their names were called. Lyra and her brother just stood around as they waited. After about five minutes of waiting, their names were called and they got up and walked out of the locker room. They walked up the steps that led to the stadium floor, and as usual, a spotlight fell on them.

"Well folks, welcome to the third round of the N1 Grand Prix! The tournament has gone from a single battle style to a partner battle style, so things promise to get interesting! Coming in right now are Lyra and Samuel Matsurba. It was an unexpected twist that these two ended up as partners, especially since a lot of us were hoping to see a sibling showdown. Well, whatever! Harpuia and Zero are probably raring to go, so we can definitely expect to see an exciting battle from these two competitors.

By this time, Lyra and her brother were standing at their side of the battletop, each waiting for their opponents to arrive in the stadium.

They didn't have to wait very long. The spotlight moved until it had fallen on their opponents. Lyra narrowed her eyes. _There they are. _She thought.

Reina and Leon both were still wherein the clothes they had before, but something was different. Instead of them being care-free, they seemed to want to get down to business and start the battle.

Well, at least Reina was.

"As for their opponents, these two have taken the N1 Grand Prix by storm and their battles never lasted longer than thirty seconds. Leon Shadow hails from DenTech Academy, but as for his partner Reina Yuzuki…" Ribbita checked her comment card, but she went bug-eyed at what she saw, "What? Ladies and gentlemen, we have no information on Reina or her navi! The battlers that battlers that fought them were so stunned that they couldn't even say anything regarding their battle with them. Well, we'll just have to let their battling talk for them!"

Lyra narrowed her eyes at Reina. The dark haired girl stared back as she and her partner made their way to the battletop. They came to stop in front of their side of the battletop. Reina and Lyra's gazes were locked as each tried to make the other talk first.

This stare down came to an end when Reina spoke. "So, have you considered my words Lyra? What do you yourself think of Zero? Do you trust him?"

Lyra's eyes were shaded as she milled the question over in her mind. Sam looked at his sister in worry as she thought; he was concerned that she wouldn't trust her own navi.

His worries dissipated when Lyra smirked. "What reason do I have not to trust Zero?"

Reina's eyes narrowed as she observed Zero's netop.

Lyra continued. "He hasn't done anything wrong. Sure, he's been hiding a few things from me, but he hasn't done anything that's made me question my faith in him. Zero has stuck with me this entire time even though he could have left whenever he wanted to. I believe in him and that's all there is to it!"

Reina sighed and shut her eyes. "Very well," she said. She looked up to meet Lyra's determined gaze, "if that is your decision, then I won't stand in your way. But I have to be sure you're able to handle the danger of being zero's netop!" she finished as she pulled her jack in cord.

Lyra, Sam, and Leon all did the same. "Jack in!" all four netops proclaimed in unison.

"Zero!"

"Harpuia!"

"Phantom!"

"Craft!"

"Power up!"

Just like the two previous battles, Zero appeared in a burst of red light. Beside him, Harpuia descended on a bolt of white-green lightning, brandishing both of his pink sabers.

Across from them, shadows rose from the ground to form the outline of Phantom EXE. The shadows became solid and after a few seconds, Phantom stood in full color in front of them. Most of his armor was black with small white accents on his helmet. A red jewel sat in the v-shaped wedge on his mask, which covered the upper part of his face. He wore a red two-tailed cape and a katana sat waiting to be used on the back of his hip armor. Currently, he held a rather large shruiken.

Beside him was a tall navi that had the look of a soldier. His cape was navy blue with gold trim on the edges of it. His armor was green and it covered his chest and legs. The armor itself was somewhat bulky and consisted of a large armored chest plate, gauntlets, boots, and large black shoulder guards. It had red, yellow, and white accents all over it; though it was different from Zero's armor, it still had the same overall design. In his right hand, he held a large, black cannon that doubled as a blade.

"Well, well, well Zero. We meet again," the green navi stated.

At this point, Zero looked completely shocked. "Craft?! Didn't you-"

Craft raised his hand for silence and Zero cut himself off mid sentence. "Yes, but the Net Police found my old memory chip and brought me back."

Zero's eyes narrowed. _So the Net Police were the ones to bring him back. Interesting…_

"But enough talk. Phantom, I presume you and Harpuia are going to fight?" Craft asked his partner.

The ninja-like navi nodded. "Yes, of course. But if can't finish off Zero, then I'll do it myself."

Craft nodded. All the netnavis settled into their fighting positions. Zero with his saber; Harpuia with his duel swords; Phantom with his throwing knives at the ready; and Craft with his cannon raised. All four navis stood perfectly still for a moment, but out of the blue, Phantom charged Harpuia. Harpuia leapt backwards and Phantom shot after him.

Meanwhile, Craft and Zero charged each other. Zero drew his saber and started attacking craft with calculated slashes from his saber. The latter blocked every stroke with his cannon. After a few more hits, Craft leapt backwards.

"Reina," he said flatly.

His netop nodded. "Mini boomer x5, battle chips in! Download!"

A blue sphere with a black line running around the middle of it appeared in Craft's hand. The tall navi hurled the bomb at Zero, which was soon followed by four more. In response, Zero cut apart the bombs before they could reach him. Each of the bombs exploded in a puff of black smoke and fire as Zero's saber cleaved them in two.

Seeing that the bombs didn't serve their purpose, Craft smirked at Zero. "Seems you're still as good as you were before."

In the real world, Reina smiled at Lyra. "I must commend you. Most navis would have gone about dodging those bombs. Your navi is very skilled," her smile disappeared and was replaced by a look of plain determination, "but so are we! Craft!"

"Yes ma'am!" her navi responded. He lifted his cannon to his shoulder and energy began charging within the large barrel.

Zero, seeing a chance to get a hit in while Craft was immobile, shot forward with both his saber and buster pistol at the ready. He was charging both weapons when Craft lowered his cannon and fired at the oncoming red navi. There was only time for a look of shock and disbelief to cross the red navi's features before he was sent flying backwards. He came to a screeching halt a good twenty feet away from where he had been, lying in a trench created by the laser cannon.

The red warrior moaned and sat up, rubbing the back of his head as he did. "That didn't go as I'd planned…" The red navi looked at his opponent. _I don't remember Craft being able to charge his cannon that fast. Since when was he able to? Did he get updated by the Net Police when they revived his data? Just what the heck is going on?!_

On the other side of the battlefield, Harpuia was evading Phantom's many throwing stars. The green navi whirled around and charged phantom. His sabers slashed apart any throwing star that Phantom threw his way as he continued his attack. Just before his blades could reach Phantom, the ninja navi whipped out his katana and blocked Harpuia's sabers. The black navi shoved Harpuia back before proceeding to launch multiple throwing knives at his opponent. While Harpuia was able to dodge some of the miniature blades, a few did make contact. Harpuia winced in pain as one of the recently thrown knives hit his jet pack. The green navi fell from the sky and hit the ground with a resounding crash that attracted both Zero and Craft's attention. Harpuia lay on his side in the crater created by his impact, weaken and battered. Phantom strut up to the edge of the crater and observed his former comrade attempt to get up, but with no avail.

"I apologize Harpuia; but Zero must be tested in order to be sure that he is capable of handling what is to come," Phantom muttered.

After a good deal of panting and huffing, Harpuia managed to pick himself off the ground. The green navi was leaning on his twin sabers. "Don't give me that Phantom!" he yelled in defiance, "I know for a fact that Zero is perfectly capable of handling himself! You just focus on your battle with me and not on Zero's fight! Sam!"

His netop nodded. "Recovery 100, battle chip in! Download!"

Harpuia glowed with blue and green pixels. The gashes and injuries caused by the knives and throwing stars were repaired in a matter of seconds. The green navi stood tall and launched himself into the air. He hovered for a moment before charging Phantom head on without fear.

Back with zero and craft, the latter was approaching the former. Zero, at this point, had gotten back up and was holding his saber in front of him. The red navi was fully prepared for whatever Craft had in store for him. Craft smirked competitively and fell into a battle stance just like his opponent.

"Well folks, it looks like playtime is over! The real battle begins here and now!" Ribbita proclaimed to the crowd.

The crowd broke into wild cheers just as the navis charged each other.

* * *

**Eclipse: ANND Done! That's a wrap people!**

**Lyra: *whistles* Wow. Didn't think it'd ever be over at the rate you were going.**

**Eclipse: Oh shut up Lyra.**

**Fefnir: *yells* Hey! When am I going to get a piece of the action again?!**

**Eclipse: Soon, just don't yell in my ear! Geesh!**

**Lyra: Well, with that out of the way, Eclipse will get the next chapter up as soon as possible, but-**

**Eclipse: But I have finals this week and next week, not to mention I have tennis tournament this weekend. I'll probably have the next chapter up by the end of next week, but it could be sooner depending on how much time I'm able to get in between studying. Well, until then, review!**


	8. Ch 8 Sibling Alliance pt 2

**Eclipse: Hello again! I'm back with another chapter! Exams are freaking over! I'm home free for the summer!**

**Lyra: Finally! You can start having more consistent updates!**

**Eclipse: True that! This second the second part of the previous chapter, so this where the battle continues!**

**Zero: Man, you aren't even halfway through yet (Not to mention you actually added more chapters to your original chapter layout). It's not something to get so excited about lame brain!**

**Eclipse: Hey, I don't need to be dissed you! You're not the one writing this so you have no room to talk!**

**Lyra: Yeah, so why don't you get your sorry butt over here so I can teach you a lesson!**

**Zero:*gulps* Uhh…No thanks! *runs off***

**Lyra: GET BACK HERE!*chases after him***

**Eclipse: Yeah! Teach him a lesson! Okay…Anyways; disclaimer is on the first chapter, so here's the story. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a certain navi to beat up…*smirks evilly***

**Chapter 8: Sibling Alliance pt. 2**

Zero's blade made contact with Craft's cannon and the two had a power struggle for a moment or two. Neither competitor was willing to give up any ground. For a few seconds, both just glared at each other as they struggled to force each other to back off. After a few seconds of this, they both jumped away from each other. As Craft was regaining his balance, Zero charged forward again in an attempt to get a hit in.

His attempt failed miserably.

Craft regained his balance faster than Zero anticipated and began unloading multiple plasma shots out of his cannon in a manner similar to that of a machine gun. Zero activated his dash thrusters that were hidden in the soles of his boots and shot out of the way. Red after images trailed behind him as he shot around the field. While the red navi had gained a lot of speed, he could still only dash around the plasma fire as he struggled to find a weak spot in Craft's offense.

"What the heck? Why didn't Zero say he could move that fast?!" Lyra yelled in disbelief.

"I saw no reason to bring them up," was her navi's calm reply.

"But how do you have whatever those things are? You've never used them before! You could've finished Leviathan and Fefnir off much quicker with those things!"

"I didn't need my dash thrusters to defeat those two because I wanted you to learn some more before I actually started using them. You're still developing as a netop and even the pros still have to hone their skills. You see, before all of this, you needed to learn when to download chips and such when it was necessary. Now that you're better as a netop, I just guessed that you were ready for an increase in speed," he explained.

Lyra smirked. "I see. You wanted me to learn how to ready you before you opened more of your arsenal up. Well, now that I have your full arsenal at my disposal, what do you say we kick Craft's butt?!"

Zero smirked back and dashed towards Craft under the hail of bullets. "Sounds good to me!"

Zero drew his saber and flashed by Craft as the red after images followed his form. Craft let out a gasp and fell to one knee. Zero flashed in behind him in an attempt to finish him off, but Craft whipped his cannon around with one hand and unloaded a maelstrom of shots on Zero. Zero let out a grunt of pain and an explosion ensued. Zero was blown backwards, but shot out of the smoke only seconds later and reactivated his dash thrusters as he resumed dodging the plasma fire.

Craft continued to fire the plasma shots at Zero. Every time the red navi got close to Craft, the cannon-wielding warrior would fire bullets so close to him that he would be forced to back off.

"Lyra, any ideas? I could really use some suggestions!" Zero yelled to his netop.

"I've got absolutely nothing! Either we need to force him into melee combat or we have to swap over to long range attacks," Lyra explained.

"Is there anything you can do?"

Lyra nodded. "Yeah. The very least I can do is get you in closer so you can at least get in a few melee hits, but I can't guarantee anything else."

"That's all I need Lyra. You just focus on battle chip support," he said in approval.

"Widesword, area steal, battle chips in! Download!" Lyra proclaimed as she loaded both chips into the port.

Zero slid his saber back into its holster and his hand changed to a long blade with a wide tip. He then disappeared in a flash of inversed color.

Craft stopped firing as he frantically looked around for his opponent. He lowers his cannon as he looks around, but he sees no signs of his opponent.

But that soon changes.

Just as Craft was about to turn around, he was attack from behind by a flurry of blows from Zero's Widesword. The navi flew forward from the force behind the blows and was soon lying on the ground face-down.

Zero stood behind him with his Widesword at the ready. "C'mon Craft! I know you aren't beaten yet! Get up!"

The navi in front of his snickered as he got up. He turned around to face Zero. "Heh heh… you haven't changed a bit Zero. I see that trying to beat you with just basic attacks isn't enough. So…" the taller navi threw off his cape, "It's time I got serious! Reina!"

His netop nodded. "Longsword, Cybersword, battle chips in! Download!"

Craft's cannon disappeared as both his arms were replaced with near identical blades. Craft charged forward with the intent of slicing Zero to pieces.

Zero, in response, brought his Widesword up to parry the blows from both swords. Craft attempted to slash Zero's legs with his Longsword, but Zero jumped into the air and performed a spin kick. Zero's foot slammed into crafts cheek, sending the opposing navi stumbling backwards in shock. Zero took this chance and shot forward towards craft. He swung his Widesword at Craft. The blade slashed right across his chest, leaving a large cut in craft's armor. Not enough to force him to log out, but enough to make him be more wary of Zero. Zero then followed up with a flurry of slashes and blows from both his fists in saber in a crazy mix of hand-to-hand combat. Craft couldn't do anything but block Zero's maelstrom of blows.

Suddenly, Craft leapt backward. "Reina, send me a battle chip!"

"Vulcan, battle chip in! Download!" his netop shouted.

A gold and orange machine gun appeared on craft's arm as the two swords disappeared. Craft began firing the gun at zero. The red navi was unable to block the shots and only crossed his arms across his upper body and face. Every shot made contact and he was pushed backwards, though his feet remained planted on the ground. Small trenches were created by his feet as he was pushed further back across the field. How much more punishment he could take was debatable.

* * *

On the other side of the battlefield, Harpuia was getting freaking tortured. Phantom and his netop were pelting his with shruiken, throwing knives, and mini boomers. That and every now and again, Phantom would dart in with his beam katana and give Harpuia a few slashes before he went back to barraging Harpuia with his knives.

All Sam and Harpuia could do was throw in shield-type battle chips and hope for a good time to strike. So far, that chance hadn't even come since Phantom was still hitting Harpuia with his shruiken.

Harpuia currently was relying on a life aura chip Sam had downloaded to protect him, but he knew that the chip wouldn't last forever.

"Sam, is there anything we can do?!" he yelled at his netop.

"I don't know! We both agreed to save the area steal chip for when we needed it, but I don't know if I should use it! Even if you managed to escape, you wouldn't be able to be airborne very long because the recovery chip didn't repair your thruster all the way and Lyra is too busy with Craft to help!" Sam responded.

"Darn it! Use the area steal chip and download another recovery chip! If I can get airborne then we have a chance to win!"

"Are you sure Harpuia?"

"Positive. Just hurry it up already! This Life Aura chip won't last forever ya' know!"

Sam finally nodded in compliance. "Area Steal, Recovery 50, battle chips in! Download!"

Harpuia glowed blue and green before disappearing in a flash of light. He appeared above Phantom, his thrusters operating at 100% capacity once again. The green navi drew his twin swords and charged Phantom. Phantom, in response, threw a multitude of both throwing knives and shruiken at his as he descended towards the ninja. Harpuia evaded as many as he could, but any weapons that got too close were sliced apart by his blades. Unknown to Phantom, Harpuia had been charging electricity in his blades as he descended. Now that he was in range of Phantom, Harpuia saw no need to hide his lightning any longer. Electricity crackled along the swords; every little burst produced a small popping sound that resembled thunder, but it was tuned down to an almost inaudible level. Phantom saw the electricity and began to dodge the stray bolts.

Luckily for Harpuia, he had developed a way to counteract Phantom's evasive maneuvers long ago.

He drove his blades into the ground, sending the lightning echoing underground. Everything around the green navi glowed yellow as the lightning charged the ground. Phantom had jumped up into the air, using his giant shruiken as a floating platform. Since he was expecting Phantom to do that, Harpuia jumped up after him, his blades still charged with residue electricity. A look of shock managed to register on Phantom's face before Harpuia's blades slashed across his body. In that instant, the ground below the two navis erupted in a burst of yellow light, sending digital dust flying into the air. After the dust had settled, Harpuia was hovering above the carnage. Phantom lay face down in the crater created by the explosion.

Phantom managed a low groan. Harpuia noticed this and floated down to kneel beside his old comrade.

"How did you anticipate my movements?" he croaked weakly. The navi had been electrocuted by the residue electricity in Harpuia's blades and that hadn't done him any good. Despite not having an element weakness like Harpuia, Leviathan, and Fefnir, the attack had still dealt him major damage.

"Simple really. When an opponent would practically blow up the whole field just to get you, you would always jump onto your little platform and wait it out. So I simply did the same and struck while you thought you were safe."

Phantom chuckled. "You've gotten better. I apologize for not being able to fight with my full strength. After all, this is but a test."

Harpuia nodded. "I know. Get some rest old friend. I have to go help Zero."

Phantom nodded and logged out.

"And Phantom is out of the battle everyone! He and his netop fought well, but it just wasn't enough against Harpuia!" Ribbita commented.

* * *

Back on the other side of the battlefield, zero was still receiving a barrage of attacks from Craft. Even though the Vulcan chip had worn off, Craft's cannon and brute strength were more than enough to compensate. Zero, despite his best attempts at landing another blow, kept on receiving attacks left and right. Craft simply wouldn't let up.

As Zero once again dashed in for an attack, craft grabbed the red navi by his throat and hurled him across the battlefield. Zero skidded to the ground, finally coming to a stop on his back. Craft was charging his cannon to attack Zero while he was down. Zero groaned and propped himself up on his forearms. He stared down the barrel of Craft's cannon with no fear. He shakily stood, an insane, crazy idea forming in his head. He knew what he would have to do to survive craft's attack, but dreaded it at the same time.

"Lyra, you know how you said that you would trust me no matter what?" he asked.

Lyra nodded.

"I'm going to ask you to trust me right now. Tell Sam to keep Harpuia away from me, but be ready with a recovery chip. I'm going to need it."

"But why Zero? What are you planning to do Zero?!" she asked in fearful concern.

"Lyra, we've gotten stronger since we first met. Your grandfather toned down my stats to let us grow as a team, but I'm going to have to override those safety restraints if we have any chance of winning."

"Zero are you insane?! That's crazy talk!"

Zero quietly smirked. "Maybe, but this is the only way. Please trust me Lyra."

Lyra stayed silent for a moment before she nodded in compliance. "Alright. But be careful."

"I will be. Don't worry."

While Lyra told her brother to keep Harpuia away from Zero, the red navi himself was taking slow, deep breaths to prepare himself for what he was about to do. He'd only done this technique every now and again in the past, but the results were always very destructive. If he was off by even a little bit, the attack could backfire and destroy him. He only had one shot at this and he wasn't going to waste it.

With a final exhale and the sound of Craft's cannon finally firing, Zero yelled something _no one_ saw coming.

_"RAKUHOUHA!"_

After that, things proceeded to explode in a burst of white light. It expanded outwards, almost coming close to Harpuia, who was hovering at least one hundred feet above the battlefield in human measurements. Craft was forced to log out in the explosion since it was too much for him to handle. The explosion died down and all that was left was an enormous dust cloud. Harpuia, who was hovering high above the carnage, was simply agape at the destruction caused by that singular attack. There was now a crater that was at least a mile wide. In the middle of the crater was a glowing white orb, which was the only area not damaged by the explosion. The orb dissipated and revealed Zero, who had collapsed onto the ground due to the amount of power it took to produce the attack. The red navi was de-rizzing on almost every part of his body.

Lyra, seeing her navi in a horrid condition downloaded the chip Zero requested she have ready. "Recovery 200, battle chip in! Download!"

Zero's glowed and he stopped de-rizzing. He sat up and took a few deep breaths to calm his adrenaline, which was currently through the roof. He could hear no shouts from the audience in the real world. Just stunned, shocked silence. He chuckled to himself. Of course no one had seen carnage like this before; the last time something even close to the damage he just caused was the earthquake in another country that happened a few years ago. Now that he was healed, he stood up quietly. Lyra's face appeared on a screen next to him.

"Zero, are you alright? Did you reset the safe restraints? What about Craft and Harpuia?" she blurted out in worry.

Zero smiled at her. "I'm fine. The safety restraints automatically reestablished themselves once the blast died down. I guess your Gramps programmed them to automatically reset if they were ever bypassed. And as for Harpuia and Craft, Harpuia's fine, but Craft was forced to log out. He wasn't deleted, so there's nothing to worry about."

Lyra sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. Speaking of logging out, you should get out of there. I think you scared the crowd half to death."

Zero nodded in agreement. He disappeared from the field and back onto his PET, where Lyra was waiting for him. The young girl looked over at Sam, who had just recalled Harpuia. He smiled at her and they faced their opponents. Shadow's face was a mask of disbelief while Reina's face was totally neutral, despite having witnessed the sheer destructive power contained in Zero's body.

While Lyra felt that she should be happy about her victory, she couldn't get over the fact that the battle itself had been a test. She had nothing to be proud of; they weren't even trying.

Reina kept her emotionless stare trained on Lyra. She then spoke. "Meet me outside in the next five minutes. Be sure your friends are with you."

With that, both she and Shadow walked away towards the exit. Lyra and Sam decided to take a page out of their book and followed suit, leaving the stunned stadium behind.

As they exited, one thought remained prominent in Lyra's ever-busy mind._ Looks like I'm finally going to get some answers. _She thought.

* * *

**Eclipse: And done. This is why I don't write purely battle chapters; they're always short!**

**Lyra: Oh well; at least you got an update up.**

**Zero: I still hurt from where you beat me up earlier.**

**Lyra: Too bad. You deserved it.**

**Eclipse: Agreed.**

**Lyra: Don't forget that you have tennis tonight.**

**Eclipse: Do I have to?**

**Zero: Oh suck it up. It's only an hour. Think of it this way: go to tennis and you have the rest of the night off.**

**Eclipse: *sighs* Fine. Anyways, I'm sorry this is short in comparison to my other chapters; it's hard to write when you've done exactly that for two hours at 8:00 in the morning. Please review and if there's anything you'd like me to add or change please mention it. It always helps to have the opinions of others when writing. I should be able to get updates up at a faster rate now that I'm free for the summer, so I should have the next chapter up soon! Bye for now!**


	9. Ch 9: Explanation

**Eclipse: Okay, here's the next chapter of MMZS V2! Updates are going to be published at a much faster rate, so there's no telling how soon the next chapter's gonna be up.**

**Lyra: Okay, but we're almost at the halfway point right?**

**Eclipse: Getting close to it, that's for sure. **

**Zero: How is **_**this **_**chapter gonna go again?**

**Eclipse: Believe me; the chapter name says it all. Oh and Lyra might get mad at you.**

**Zero: Crap.**

**Eclipse: I said might, not will. Oh well; you'll get over it. I don't own Megaman Zero or Megaman NT Warrior, but I do own my OCs so on with the story!**

**Chapter 9: Explanation**

As Lyra and her brother walked out of the stadium, they were met by Lan and the others, who had just sprinted over from their stadium upon seeing the video from Lyra's battle.

_Well, at least they've saved me the trouble of finding them. _She thought.

The group skidded to a halt in front of the two victors, but the looks on their faces showed elation, fear, and plain old shock. They bent over panting from the long run there, but they recovered quickly.

Her younger brother Lee was the first to speak. "Sis that was awesome! You totally kicked Craft's sorry butt! That was just amazing!"

"Lee, now's not the time…" Ash chided gently. His twin looked around and upon seeing that no one shared his mood, he quieted down immediately.

Finally after a tense moment of silence, Lan spoke up. "What the heck was that Lyra?! You never told us Zero could do that-that whatever it was! Just how-? When? Why?"

As Lan continued to prattle on incoherently, Lyra let out a sigh of minor irritation. "If you would stop your blathering and listen to what I have to say, then maybe you might learn a thing or two!"

Lan abruptly shut up as she asked. Maylu stepped forward in Lan's place and asked Lyra what Lan might have asked had his mind been intact.

"So how did Zero pull off that huge attack? I've never seen a netnavi capable of putting out that much power," she stated.

Lyra looked at Maylu and sighed. "I don't know how he did it or how he brought out his full strength. What I do know is that Zero's power is currently that of a standard netnavi's and that's good enough for me. Besides, Reina owes me some answers," she looked down at her PET, "Speaking of which, you owe me some answers as well Zero."

She glared at Zero for a good minute. Seeing that his netop had swapped over to the more serious side of her personality, Zero sighed in defeat since he knew he couldn't win an argument against her. "I know I do Lyra. But right now we need to go see Reina; she's waiting for us."

Lyra nodded in agreement and turned to her friends and siblings. "He's right. Reina asked me to bring you along with me, so we need to go. I have to get my answers before the next match."

The group walked over to a couple of tables as they awaited Reina and Shadow's arrival. Lyra and her siblings sat at the same table while the others were forced to occupy other tables. After waiting for a few minutes, the two mentioned netops calmly strode over to them.

"Hey, what took you so long? We've been waiting!" Pyro called in annoyance.

"I hate to say it, but I agree with hothead over there. The least you could have done is hurried!" Tsunami added.

At the actions of the two impatient netops, Lyra shook her head in disdain. Reina walked over to her table and stood there calmly. Lyra, who had saved the seat across from her, gestured for Reina to sit at the table with them. The stoical netop complied and sat down. Tsunami, Pyro, Lan, Maylu, Yai, Dex, and Tori all scooted their chairs closer to the table Lyra was sitting at in an effort to listen to the conversation that was about to take place.

Reina looked around her to confirm that everyone was able to hear her before she spoke. "I suppose you want to know a few things regarding your netnavis?"

Lyra's gaze hardened. "I don't just want to know; I demand to know why you said Zero once existed in this world. I want you to tell me everything you know about me, the death of my parents, Zero, and World Three, starting from the beginning."

Reina sighed. "This may take awhile. I advise that you all attempt to keep up with my story and to pay attention. Hold your questions until the end because they might be answered as I explain," her last sentence was directed at everyone around her, to which nods answered her.

Everyone strained their ears as Reina began. "What I'm about to tell you is top secret information. You must not repeat anything you hear to anyone or else the net police will be after you. If you still want to listen, then I suggest you list well. Four hundred years ago, our world was ravaged by war between humans and machines. I don't mean computers or household appliances. I'm talking about robots. These robots were known as reploids. Reploid stands for Replicable Android. These reploids were made to look like humans and even feel emotions humans feel. Reploids were built to serve humans and under the Three Laws of Robotics, they were controlled. But an advanced civilization called Neo Arcadia began retiring reploids under the orders of one of their own."

"Neo Arcadia? You mean like one of those hyper advanced prehistoric civilizations we learned about in school?" Megaman asked in shock.

"Wait how do you know about those things Megaman?" Lan asked.

"You were asleep during that class."

"Oh."

At this point, Reina's eye was twitching. "I said to hold your questions until I finished, but yes that is what Neo Arcadia was. But instead of their tech being primitive, it was much more advanced than even today's technology. Their leader, a reploid by the name of Megaman X, began to give orders to retire reploids. They falsely dubbed other reploids as 'Mavericks'. Now before you ask me what a maverick is, I'm going to let Zero explain this one. After all, hunting Mavericks was his specialty."

Every head turned to Lyra's PET, which she had set up on the table. Zero sighed and explained. "A Maverick was a reploid that defied the three laws of robotics and attacked humans. The three laws of robotics state that a robot cannot harm a human, so if that law is broken, the reploid was considered a Maverick."

"Thank you for explaining Zero. Now as I was saying, the reploids that were ordered to be retired were actually innocent. The reason behind the orders was because this X wasn't the original Megaman X. He was a copy created by Dr. Ciel, who was a child prodigy. She was bio engineered to be a genius. The reploids that weren't retired by Copy X's maverick hunters formed an organization called The Resistance under the leadership of Dr. Ciel herself. She had fled Neo Arcadia when she saw the unfair treatment of innocent reploids. The Resistance began fighting Neo Arcadia, but it was a losing battle. This coerced Ciel to seek out the legendary reploid," at this point, Reina was looking right at Zero, "This reploid was considered a legend and when he was in action he had a reputation for almost never being defeated. He was a maverick hunter. Anyone care to take a guess at who that reploid was?"

Everyone looked around at each other, but Lyra was stone still. She had a far off look in her eyes and her mouth was slightly open. Too many pieces were falling into place and she couldn't believe the answer she got.

_Legendary reploid…maverick hunter…legend…legendary…THAT'S IT!_

"Zero…" all head turned towards her as she finally got the word out of her mouth, "Zero…it _was _Zero, wasn't it? That explains why Mr. Match referred to him as the legendary program! It's because his reputation, right?"

Reina smiled, but Lyra's netnavi was completely silent. He almost looked ashamed of himself.

"Are you saying that Zero killed innocent people?" Maylu gasped in disbelief.

Yai instantly rounded on the red netnavi. "You scum! How could you?"

"He didn't do anything," Harpuia interjected.

Every set of eyes turned to Harpuia. The green netnavi continued. "As one of the former generals of Neo Arcadia, I would know. Phantom, Leviathan, Fefnir and I have all fought Zero on several occasions. He was trying to save those reploids, not destroy them."

"Yeah, harpy's right! All we did was fight Zero! He never hurt a human!" Leviathan called out in Zero's defense.

"Agreed! He beat me so many times that I lost count!" Fefnir added.

Reina smiled at the navis. "Had you let me finish, I would have told you Zero hunted down those that were truly guilty. He would never harm an innocent."

"Then Zero didn't do anything at all? He was only protecting others?" Lan asked.

Reina nodded. "Yes, that's correct. Back to my previous statement, it was Zero that Ciel sought to find. When Zero first awakened, he was amnesic because of hibernation sickness and he didn't even know his own name. Had Neo Arcadia gotten their hands on Zero before Ciel, it would have been disastrous. But luckily for us, it didn't happen that way. Zero saved Ciel and went on to fight against Neo Arcadia with The Resistance. What's ironic about the whole ordeal was that he was fighting X, who was his old comrade. But as I said, this X was only a copy of the original. The real X had become a cyber elf, which is a digital being capable of projecting itself in the real world. They oftentimes had special abilities to aid reploids in battle, but it cost them their lives."

"Wait, if cyber elves could project themselves in the real world, then why can't our netnavis do the same?" Yai asked.

"Yeah, shouldn't they be able to?" Dex added.

"No, they weren't programmed to do so. The programming for cyber elves has been lost for centuries. Anyways, once Zero had destroyed Copy X, he left the resistance to find his own way of helping stop the war. He later returned when a reploid Elpizo was contaminated by the two Baby Elves, who wanted to be reunited with their mother, the Dark Elf. The Dark Elf was a being created to purge a virus called the maverick virus since it created mavericks from exposure to the virus itself. During that time, the Dark elf was called the mother elf, since she was the first original cyber elf. Before Zero defeated Elpizo, he had destroyed the original X. Once Elpizo was destroyed, the Dark Elf fled. Two months later, a madman named Dr. Weil reappeared in Neo Arcadia. Weil was the one who had put a curse on the mother elf, causing her to become the dark elf. X had originally sealed himself away to try and purge the dark elf of her curse. He rebuilt Copy X and put the copy under his control. After many missions and hard work, Zero finally tracked him down, only to be faced by a monstrosity named Omega. Omega was Zero's original body, which was sealed away when Zero found out he was the carrier of the virus that created mavericks. That's how he ended up sealed away in the first place. Zero's mind was moved to a copy body while omega was sent up into space. Dr. Weil had somehow retrieved omega from space. Zero destroyed his original body without hesitation even though he was a copy. Despite this, Dr. Weil got away, only to return months later with his latest scheme, Operation RAGNAROK. Craft, I do believe it's your turn to explain the rest."

"Yes, you're right. After Zero went to stop Weil's reploids from destroying a place known as Area Zero, he met me in the ruins of a space colony that had crashed there. We didn't fight, but it was our first encounter. We met twice more after that; once in area Zero again and then aboard Weil's space station Ragnarok after I destroyed Neo Arcadia. After I was beaten on Ragnarok, I was defeated for good," Craft finished.

"Yes. After that, Zero made a second trip up to Ragnarok when it fired _again_, only to find that Weil hadn't been destroyed along with Neo Arcadia. They fought and Weil was defeated. Just as Zero was about to teleport back, Weil rose again in a destructive, large, new body. Zero rejected the offer to transfer back to the resistance trailer and fought Weil until he killed the madman. This would have made Zero a maverick, but it was avoided in the most undesirable way possible. You see, as Ragnarok entered the Earth's atmosphere, Zero was killed in the resulting crash."

Zero, at this point, was shivering. The poor navi looked absolutely miserable. It was almost as if he could still feel the heat of the superheated metal of the space station burning him. Everyone looked at Zero with a mix of pity and shock.

While they were doing that, Reina continued. "After the crash, Ciel put the system she'd created to solve the energy crisis to use, but the system was flawed and didn't work. By this time, the new government had passed Equality laws to blur the line between human and reploid. Reploids were given artificial lifespans and human were given cybernetic implants to augment their strength. Ciel had been the first to undergo the changes, but she disappeared a few years later and was presumed dead. With her gone, the system collapsed and society was forced to revert back to more primitive means of energy to solve the crisis. All of Neo arcadia and the Resistance's advanced tech was confiscated and sealed away. The reason reploids and augmented humans aren't walking around is because A.) All the reploids died at the age of 200. And B.) The humans that had lived during that time had died. The cybernetic implants were canceled and society reverted to how it is today and people started developing computer technology instead of robotics. The government wiped the Neo Arcadian timeline off the face of the planet and the information on that dreadful past is sealed away in the federal archives."

Everyone was silent for a moment before Sam asked a question. "But if Zero and the others died, then how are they here today? Shouldn't they be long gone?"

"A good question. A few years ago, the government found the remains of what looked to be a huge crater in the desert in china. When they went to check it out, they found some very advanced technology buried under the sand," she paused for a moment, "In the remains, they found the body of a reploid, who was only barely alive. The reploid body they found was Zero."

Everyone's breath hitched in their throats.

"But that's impossible! Zero died in the crash!" Lan nearly yelled in denial.

"Apparently, Zero lived through the crash, but suffered serious injury. Due to that, he went into what could be described as a coma to lessen the amount of energy he used. Over the years, I suppose zero was buried along with Ragnarok's remains. When they found him, the Chinese government wanted nothing to do with a useless robot, so they gave him to SciLabs for study. That's where Dr. Matsurba began the process of reviving Zero using his memory chip. As a part of the project, the government gave Lyra's grandfather Harpuia's, Leviathan's, Fefnir's, and Phantom's memory chips. At this time, Dr. Wily was working with Dr. Matsurba and Hikari on netnavi development. As we all know, Dr. Wily left SciLabs," Reina looked at Lyra, "Lyra, this is where you come in."

"Huh?" she asked in confusion.

"Upon leaving, Dr. Wily formed World Three and went to America to gain, shall we say, 'leverage' against Dr. Matsurba. In order to do so, he had to go about doing three things," she held up her fingers as she listed off the reasons, "One, he had to find a way of gaining that leverage. Two, he had to execute his plan. And three, he had to use that leverage against your grandfather."

"Lyra, Dr. Wily intended to kidnap you and your siblings."

The Matsurba siblings went wide eyed. "WHAT?!"

"Yes. I'm sorry to say it Lyra, but the death of your parents was anything but a coincidence," Reina responded smoothly.

"But how is that possible? My mom died from cancer and my boyfriend died from disease! How is that a set up?" Lyra yelled at her. Sam and Lyra stood up in unison, each wearing an expression of pure rage. Their siblings simply were shaking in their chairs at the new information.

"Settle down. I can't explain if you're not calm. Just sit down and I promise you, I will elaborate."

Sam and Lyra reluctantly seated themselves. Everyone's attention was now on Reina.

Reina took a brief breath before she spoke. "Dr. Wily killed your boyfriend with a sample of the Maverick Virus. His plan in doing this was most likely to shatter your spirit before he killed your parents. As for the virus's origin, that's a bit more complicated. You see, when Zero fought Omega, he came into contact with it again without him knowing it. Since he had a natural resistance to it, it didn't affect him, even when he was up on Ragnarok. By the time they found Zero, however, his soul had been corrupted by the virus despite the fact that he was in a coma. Dr. Wily had taken a sample of the virus and mutated it to affect humans. The new virus made the immune system deteriorate until the host was so weak that the body couldn't even continue to function, resulting in death."

Lyra was now in a state of shock. She was shaking and it looked like she was about to cry. Despite her condition, Reina continued. "As for your mother, Dr. Wily stole an isolated cancer stem cell and slipped it into your mother's medicine when she got prescriptions from her doctor. He'd probably paid someone to do it, so we wouldn't be able to trace him. As for the death of your father and step father, he probably did the same thing, only he planned out their deaths. The only problem was that the government got to you and your siblings before he did. That's what saved you from being held as a hostage in exchange for Zero. Lyra, you have no one else to blame for your current predicament other than World Three. AS much as I hate to say it, your parents and Kai were all victims of World Three."

Lyra had tears running out of her eyes. She stood up, grabbed her PET and ran off elsewhere, leaving her confused friends behind to wonder why she'd just ran off."

**Eclipse: Done. I'm not typing any more of this chapter.**

**Lyra: And with good reason. Do you have any clue of how terrible it is that you made Dr. Wily kill my parents just to get Zero?! Seriously?!**

**Eclipse: I'm sorry, but that's how I planned it. I've been waiting to type this chapter for so long. Believe me; you are going to hate the next few chapters I write.**

**Lyra: And why's that?**

**Eclipse: Because bad things are going to start happening.**

**Lyra: Darn you.**

**Eclipse: I'm sorry. Geesh. Anyhow, please review this. Like the last chapter, my mojo's been a little off, so it you see anything you would like changed, please review or PM me. Constructive criticism and opinions are welcomed, so please review.**


	10. Ch 10: Beginning of the End

**Eclipse: Sorry that it's taken me so long to update. I needed a break so that I could come back with a fresh perspective. And I just got back from freshmen trip, so that's the other reason for my lateness.**

**Lyra: Yay! You're back! *hugs Eclipse***

**Eclipse: No! Off of me! I know you're happy to see me but this is overkill! Anyhow, I combined chapters 10 and 11, so this is the end result. Next chapter is probably going to be up by tomorrow, but it may be earlier.**

**Lyra: *lets go* Hmph. Well good for you. Anyways, disclaimer is on the first chapter, so on with the story once again! :)**

**Chapter 10: Beginning of the End**

While her friends searched for her, Lyra had gone and hid herself in the locker room of one of the stadiums. The locker room was currently empty thanks to an intermission, so she could feel horrible and cry without anyone looking. From his PET, Zero silently observed his netop as she let out soft sobs. Her shoulders shook and tears fell from her face without restraint.

"Lyra…" He whispered sadly.

She continued to sob and cry. It ripped Zero's heart in two just seeing his friend like this. It made him feel helpless, and that was one thing Zero hated. It resembled the way he'd felt when he wasn't able to stop Ragnarok from firing on Neo Arcadia.

After a few minutes, she looked up. She dragged her PET out of its holster so she could look Zero in the eye. "Zero… why didn't you say anything about being a reploid? Or that you lived centuries before we did? Why didn't Fefnir, Harpuia, Leviathan, or Phantom say anything either? You all lied to us! Just why Zero? Why…?" she sobbed miserably.

The red netnavi sighed softly. "Lyra, do you remember me saying that I knew things that would drive a human insane?"

"Y-yeah. That was in the locker room before our battle with Leviathan. Why are you bringing that up?"

"Well, the reason I bring it up is because it's a true statement. I've been through more wars and battles than I can count. I've had to kill friends, innocents, loved ones… all because they went Maverick. I didn't want any of that to happen. And I most certainly didn't want to involve you because of the stupid virus my creator implanted in me in the past. I'm sorry Lyra; this whole situation you're in is all my fault. You aren't to blame for any of this. So if you're going to be mad at anyone, be mad at me."

He waited for his netop to blow up in his face. Instead, she held the PET against her chest. Her tears fell on the surface of the hand-held device. Zero was stunned into silence; he didn't know how to respond to the gesture that would probably be the human equivalent of a hug.

"Zero, I can't stay mad at you. It's just that I was looking for someone to blame. I know that the situation I'm in isn't your fault; it's human nature to look for someone to blame when something bad happens. I don't think you choose to have the virus implanted; just like how children can't choose their parents and vice versa. You had no control over what happened when your creator put that virus in you. I was wrong to put the blame on you for what happened. I'm sorry Zero," she held her PET out in front of her as she said that to him.

Despite her apology, Zero was still uncharacteristically silent. She saw his shoulders sag and he looked her in the eye. He took a deep breath and spoke. "Lyra, I know I shouldn't keep secrets anymore, so I promise I'll tell you everything. But there's something you should know. Not many people or reploids know this, and most of them are dead. Just promise me you won't blow up until I explain, alright?"'

She smiled and wiped the tears from her face. "I promise. Now spill."

"I was created by an insane genius named Dr. Wily."

Lyra's eyes went wide. She sucked in a breath, but didn't say a word despite the fact that she was going to explode.

"I know what you're thinking and it's not today's Dr. Wily I'm talking about. If my hunch is correct, I'd say that my creator was Dr. Wily's ancestor. They look pretty much alike you know."

Lyra let out the breath of relief that she didn't even know she had been holding. "Okay, 'cause if you were created by today's Dr. Wily, I would've shoved the PET in a trash compactor."

"You wouldn't!"

"Oh but I would."

The two went silent for a few moments, but then Zero began to chuckle. Then he just started flat out laughing. Lyra looked on in confusion as her navi guffawed loudly. Definitely one of those times when she was glad no one was around.

Zero finally got over his laughing fit and wiped a tear from his eye. He looked up at his netop. "It's good to know that the situation hasn't changed you. So, what do you plan to do now?"

"I don't know. I want to get revenge on Wily, but revenge never gets anyone anywhere. I guess I could at least try to wring the truth out of him some way or another, but that really isn't necessary considering that I know what the truth is and what isn't. But still, I'd rather hear it from the madman himself than from one of his lackeys," she finalized her decision.

Zero nodded in agreement. "Makes sense," He pause for a moment, "This is gonna sound odd, but you've really grown up Lyra."

Lyra smiled warmly at him. "Thanks Zero. I don't know what I'd do without you sometimes."

"I'll tell you what you'd do;" he started, "you'd be late to school every day and you would most likely forget to do most of the simple stuff I'm forced to remind you about."

Lyra felt a swell of annoyance in her chest. She glared at the screen with a look that would absolutely murder Zero. Well, that's if looks _could _actually kill. "You jerk! I don't even know why I put up with you! You have no sense of decency and you insult me every chance you get!"

"You're too easy to aggravate. I would get that checked if I were you."

"Ugh! You're impossible!"

"Thank you."

The two went silent for a few seconds. Then, Lyra released a small chuckle, followed by one from Zero. This continued until they both started to laugh. Quite loudly, in fact. They hadn't laughed like this since they poked fun at Pyro. This continued for a few minutes until Lyra abruptly stood.

"Well, I guess I let the other wait long enough. We'd better go find them," she said.

Zero nodded. "Want me to send out an e-mail telling them to meet us in front of the stadium?"

"Please."

Zero jumped right onto his task. While he did that, Lyra went ahead and headed to the stadium lobby where she would meet her friends. She sat down on a bench by the door since she expected a long wait, but she didn't even have to wait five minutes.

When she saw her friends run into the lobby, she felt a hope surge through her body. It revitalized her and strengthened her resolve. Sam and her siblings were the first to approach her, but it was more like they tackled her instead of a calm hello.

"Sis!" came the calls of her siblings. Trey, Lee, Lizzie, and Ash leapt at her; each of her siblings clung to her waist and cried in relief.

"They were worried you know," Sam said as he walked up.

Lyra nodded to her younger sibling. "I'm not surprised," she turned her attention back to her younger siblings who were still clinging to her, "and I'm sorry for making you all worry."

Four pairs of teary eyes gazed back at her. Her siblings had smiles on their faces as the worry changed to relief. The rest of her friend jogged up and greeted her, each displaying worry on some level.

"Are you alright?" Maylu asked as she jogged up with the rest of the group.

"I'm fine," Lyra responded smoothly.

"Why the heck did you run off like that Lyra?" Lan asked. The rest of the group nodded in agreement at the question since it was the same one they wanted to ask.

"It just became a little too much to take in, so I needed to clear my head," she explained.

The rest of her friends nodded in agreement once again; they could sympathize with that explanation. As they continued talking to her, she couldn't hold back the tears of happiness and relief as she gazed around at all the different faces that belonged to loyal and faithful friends.

During the whole exchange, Reina had stood away from the group. Lyra noticed this and walked over as soon as her siblings had let go of her. Reina looked at Lyra in the eye, which the young netop returned.

"So have you decided upon what you're going to do now?" she asked.

Lyra nodded. "I've decided to continue netbattling with Zero. He's not to blame for any of this. I'm going to find Dr. Wily and wring the truth out of him, even though I already know it. I've come too far to turn back now and it's time I started acting like it."

Reina nodded in approval. "Good. I would expect n less from Zero's netop. I must warn you though; World Three will be coming after you in some way or another, so be on your guard."

"I will. You don't need to worry about that. Besides, I've got Zero watching my back."

"Yeah. I promise that on my honor, I'll keep her out of harm's way Reina," Zero promised.

Reina looked to the PET, even though it was in Lyra's holster. "I trust that you will keep your word. You've never broken your promises before and I expect no different now. Is that clear Zero?"

"Crystal."

Reina then swapped her gaze to the group of netops in front of her. "As for the rest of you, the same warning I gave Lyra applies to all of you. World Three will do anything to gain leverage against Zero and Lyra, so be sure to watch yourselves. I'm not going to be there to watch your backs; that job falls to you alone. Understand?"

Everyone shared a collective nod. Reina smiled for the first time since the group had met her. "I'll see you later. I have to return to Net Police HQ to turn in my report. Remember my warning."

With those words, she walked away, leaving Lyra and her friends in silence. Lan had another netbattle to get to, so he and his group of friends ran off, leaving Lyra, Tsunami, Shadow, Pyro, and her siblings behind.

As the smaller group watched them run off, Tsunami let out a huff of annoyance. "Man, all that kid and his netnavi think of are netbattles! Don't they get that there's more to the world that just battling?"

Leviathan sweat dropped even though no one could see it. "Well Tsunami, you have your priorities, they have theirs."

"I know…"

Pyro just laughed. "Can't exactly blame the kid! After all, netbattles are what makes life worth livin'!"

"Yeah! You can never have too many battles! 'Specially when you get to blow stuff up!" Fefnir added.

"Oh great; Nobody even go into guns or else we'll have the argument of the century over who has the biggest gun," Harpuia groaned.

"Did someone say gun?"

It was Zero's turn to sweat drop. "Oh dear…"

One big argument later, Lyra was back in the arena kicking digital butt with Zero. She had gotten a new partner for the tag battle, but they got eliminated within the first ten seconds of it. Her friends cheered from the stands, each shouting different phrases of encouragement. The only member missing was Sam since he too had a netbattle to attend. The battle itself barely lasted two minutes since Zero wiped the floor with both of his opponents. He just hacked through anyone who happened to be in his way. Lyra barely had to lift a finger since he worked so fast.

After the battle, her friends, including Lyra herself, went to the main stadium to find out who she would be battling next. As they checked the competition bracket for both the A and B blocks, a person walked up beside Lyra.

"Well, it looks like it's down to you and me, huh Lyra?" the person asked.

Lyra yelped in surprise as she found Alicia standing next to her with a smug smile on her face. Just to prove her statement, Alicia pointed to the bracket they were in, and it indeed said that the two friends would be going up against one another.

Lyra couldn't hide her smirk. "Well, it looks like we'll finally get that battle we so eagerly waited for, huh?"

"Yeah. And to think, during the weeks we trained for the N1 Grand Prix, we never once thought about battling each other," Alicia laughed.

"Haha! You're righted on that one my friend. So which one of us do you think will come out on top?"

"I'm pretty sure Kitsune and I will kick you into next week since we beat you so bad."

"Oh really? How do you know that Zero and I won't just kick yours first?"

Alicia let out a huff of disbelief. "In your dreams Lyra. You won't even be able to touch us."

"Really? And just how do you know that for sure when you've never faced me before, hm?" Zero challenged.

"Zero, while we have never battled you before, we have more experience than you ever will. You cannot win against us," Kitsune argued.

"Oh, I don't have experience? I predate you by a good three hundred years fox!" he pointed out.

"W-w-what?!" Kitsune gasped.

Zero smirked smugly. "Care to explain Lyra?"

Ignoring the surprised glances from Alicia and Kitsune, Lyra dragged her friend outside and explained what had been revealed earlier that afternoon. After she was done, Alicia's jaw was touching the floor and Kitsune was stuttering as she tried-and failed- to find something to say. Lyra was left with a smug smirk and Zero's expression mirrored that of his netop's. The two walked back over to Lyra's friends and siblings, who snickered at the shocked netop and navi.

"So I'll see you in the arena?" Lyra asked.

"U-u-hh…" Alicia stuttered. She then slapped herself, shook her head from side to side, and looked back to Lyra with renewed determination, "You're on."

"Good."

The two friends went their separate ways to spend some time relaxing before the big battle. After a good thirty minutes, Lyra finally went down to the locker room. She found a bench to sit down on, like always, and simply waited. As the minutes started ticking off, Lyra and Zero's excitement was starting to get the better of them. Zero was pacing inside his PET with a smile on his face and Lyra looked like she was going to jump out of her seal at any moment. During this rather tense wait, neither netop nor netnavi noticed that the locker room was deserted. Since this was the final round of the B block, every other possible opponent had been eliminated. After this, the winner went on to face the winner of the A block. Sadly, she had discovered that Sam had lost to Alicia prior to the battle that was about to take place, so she was the last competitor in the B block of the tournament.

Finally, her name was called over the intercom and she went over to the double doors that led to the stairs. She took a deep breath and pushed them open. As she walked, a sense of nervousness and excitement washed over her, as well as a sense of confidence. Just before she walked out of the passageway, she pulled her PET and looked at Zero. A pair of determined eyes stared back at her.

"You ready for this Zero?" she asked.

"I'm always ready for this sort of thing."

"Good."

With those words, Lyra tucked her PET back into its holster and pulled out the turquoise necklace that she had received when she got Zero's program chip. Quickly, she put it on as a good luck charm and walked out onto the stadium floor. She was immediately met with hoots and hollers from a very excited crowd as Ribbita began the opening comments with Higsby. The two were broadcasting from the other stadium, where Lyra knew Chaud and Lan were facing off in the finals. Higsby had lost his battle, so he'd returned to commentate on battles.

"Well Higsby, it looks like we're finally down to the final battle of the B block!" Ribbita opened rather enthusiastically.

"It certainly does Ribbita. And may I saw we have quite the pair of competitors duking it out for the title of B block champion!" Higsby replied.

"You're right on that one Higsby. If you thought Lan and Chaud's battle is crazy, you'll think the same of this one too! Entering the stadium now is Lyra Matsurba! She's had quite a run at the N1 Grand Prix, but can we really expect less from the granddaughter of Nathaniel Matsurba? Her netnavi, Zero, is renowned for his abilities with his sword and his speed, so any opponent that comes across him better watch out!"

"I've heard bits and pieces about these two! From what I hear, Zero's a monster!"

"And you would have heard right Higsby!" Lyra reached the battletop just as Ribbita said that, "Now entering on the other side of the stadium is Alicia Ryan! Not only does she attend DenTech Academy, but she's also Lyra's best friend!"

"Wow! From what I hear, these two have never battled each other, so it'll be an exciting first battle! What about Alicia's netnavi Ribbita?"

"Well, Kitsune is well known for her accurate attacks, most of which have finished even the strongest netnavis in one blow. Her speed and stealth is something to be feared, but it'll be interesting to see how Zero deals with her!"

As Alicia reached her side of the battletop, Lyra put on a winning smirk. "So it looks like we'll finally get to settle things, huh Alicia?!"

"You bet! We're not going to let you win so easily!" her friend responded.

"We'll see about that! How 'bout we cut the chit-chat and battle?!"

"You're on!"

"Zero!"

"Kitsune!"

"JACK IN!"

Zero appeared on the battlefield in a flash of red-white light, just as he had in all of his other battles. While Lyra was still unsure of what caused the new appearance animation, she couldn't say she minded. Across from him, Kitsune appeared in a bolt of gold lightning. Her five tails swayed in an invisible wind as she faced Zero; her blue eyes were cold and focused. The fox-like navi then stepped forward. Zero tensed up in response, but she didn't attack him like he expected. He cautiously held her gaze as the two had a stare down. Zero's previous cautiousness faded and he felt confidence take its place.

The two navis continued to stare at each other for a few moments, but then, without preamble or even a word wishing the other good luck, they charged each other. Kitsune pulled a katana from the sheath on her thigh guard while Zero drew his trademark saber. The two blades clashed in a shower of sparks as the two battled for dominance. It was clear that Zero was stronger than Kitsune, but the fox was considerably faster, as Zero and Lyra had yet to learn. As such, Kitsune leapt away from Zero a few seconds after their blades collided. She leapt backwards and began to dart around the battlefield, becoming nothing more than an ever-shifting mirage. Zero looked around wildly as he tried to keep up with the opposing navi's movements, but the results yielded only a bad headache.

The pain he felt intensified as he was hit from behind by Kitsune's katana. He stumbled forward, clutching his shoulder as he did so. As soon as the previous attack faded, another one lashed out at his stomach. Soon, attacks flashed across every part of his body, giving him no breaks from the torture. Wave after wave of attacks hammered him and he soon began to de-rizz ever so slightly. He felt his frustration at not being able to attack growing, as was the same situation with his netop.

"Oh man! Higsby, are you seeing this?! Kitsune has Zero totally immobilized!" Ribbita commented.

"I'm seeing it Ribbita, but I'm not sure I believe it! I've heard of how fast that navi is, but this is just ridiculous!" he responded.

As the two continued to comment on the battle, Lyra gritted her teeth in irritation. _How can I get Zero out of there? Area steal is the most practical of course, but a dream aura would block those lightning fast attacks for a little bit and give him a chance to recover. Alright, no time like the present!_ "Zero, get ready!"

At his netop's call, he glanced back to her. He nodded in preparedness and his eyes became focused and determined.

"Dream Aura, Recovery 100, area steal, battle chips in! Download!"

The chips entered the port at lightning fast speed. A light red aura surrounded Zero. The red navi straightened up as the recovery chip worked its magic. During this period, Kitsune hammered the dream aura with her barrage attacks in an effort to break the barrier that prevented her from landing a hit on Zero. Finally, she brought out her second katana and charged the shield point blank. Her blades hit the shield and sparks flew from the force of the impact. The tips of her blades shattered the shield after a few moments of struggling, but by the time her twin blades broke through, Zero was gone. She attempted to regain her balance after charging the shield, but she didn't get the chance. Zero appeared behind her in a flash of inverted light. He drew both of his sabers and began hammering away at Kitsune.

Many times, Kitsune tried to block the red navi's attacks, but she was unable to get in a firm battle stance to respond. Now that she was off balance, Zero had the clear advantage with his stronger attacks. She continued to stumble backwards as Zero barraged her with attack after attack. Finally, zero landed a rather powerful slash across her midsection. This sent Kitsune flying backwards until she eventually slammed into one of the many pillars that littered the battlefield. A gasp escaped the fox as she fell to the floor. Zero approached slowly as she struggled to get up. As he walked towards her, he failed to see the glint in Kitsune's eyes.

Just when the red navi was about five feet away from his opponent, the fox lashed out at him. She spun around and landed a hit on him with her five tails, but unlike other blows, these were different. The tips of Kitsune's five tails were engulfed in ghostly blue-white fire. Zero was burnt by the fire and was soon engulfed by it as each tail slashed across his body. He stumbled backwards and the flames died, but the pain caused by them was still there. Kitsune, seeing her chance, dashed forward towards Zero, but instead of her katanas, her small, dull claws were outstretched. Her hands were suddenly covered by a pair of claws. The claws themselves were silver and the gauntlets that attached to Kitsune's original gauntlets were gold. She lashed out at Zero, but the red navi made a quick dash to the side to avoid her. He then lifted his sabers to block another slash from Kitsune's elongated claws. He crossed his blades in an X shape as the claws clashed with them. The two struggled for a moment before Zero leapt backwards.

"Lyra, I need to keep her at a distance! Send me a chip!" he shouted quickly.

"I'm on it! Triple rod, chain rod, battle chips in! Download!" she exclaimed.

Zero sheathed his sabers as the triple rod appeared in front of him. The staff-like weapon's bladed tip flared as the energy formed its triangular shape. Kitsune, undaunted by his new weapons, charged forward with every intent directed towards beating him. Zero fell into a battle stance and simply waited for Kitsune instead of charging her like he had before. Right when he got within the triple rod's range, he used the rod's bladed tip to bat her claws away without causing a deadlock between the two of them. Kitsune was knocked off balance by the sudden movement, but she recovered much quicker than the previous time. The moment her feet touched the ground, Zero saw his chance to keep things tipping towards his advantage. He swung the triple rod at Kitsune's calves, effectively taking her feet out from under her. During the time frame that she was partially airborne, Zero dashed in, abandoning the triple rod, and lashed out with a flurry of punches. Every punch hit the fox as he barraged her.

After a few moments, he stopped and landed a roundhouse kick to her midsection, sending her flying off to the side. Kitsune, now aware of what was happening, righted herself mid-air and landed on her feet. She faced Zero with a smirk on her face. Zero was perplexed by this action, but he wouldn't be for long. She crossed her arms over her chest and then slowly extended them out to her sides. Ghostly balls of fire appeared around her, each taking the shape of a flaming fox. She then pressed the heels of her palms together. The flaming foxes responded by charging towards Zero, combining into a wall of fire as they approached.

Worried, Zero turned to Lyra. "Lyra, a little help here!"

"Just wait Zero. Just a bit longer…," she muttered back. Zero, not knowing what to make of her words, turned towards the incoming wall of fire.

Lyra watched just like her navi did. Just as the wall was a few feet away from her partner, she saw their chance. "Now Zero! Barrier, Z-saber, battle chips in! Download!"

The red navi pulled out his saber as a barrier formed around him. Despite not hearing what his directions were, he knew what his netop wanted him to do. He charged into the flaming wall of fire without any hesitation. The barrier around him kept the flames at bay as he charged towards Kitsune, who was standing on the other side.

As this was happening, Kitsune stood on the other side of the inferno with a smirk on her face. She figured that Zero would never survive her flames, but she was soon proven wrong. Zero burst through the wall of flame, his saber blazing. Kitsune was startled to say the least, but she didn't have any time to respond to his attack. Zero's saber slashed across her body as he flew past her. No sound escaped her, but she frozen. Zero stood behind her, his saber down at his side.

The fox navi, who hadn't spoke at all during the whole battle, smiled and whispered something. "Great job Zero. You…win…"

With those words, she collapsed onto the ground and logged out, leaving Zero alone on the battlefield.

"And that's it folks! The winner of the B block finals is Zero and his netop Lyra!" Ribbita yelled over the intercom.

Cheering accompanied the announcement and Zero couldn't help but blush in embarrassment. Lyra had a proud smile on her face and Alicia and Kitsune clapped for them along with the crowd.

But the celebration came to a hasty stop when the stadium shook. One of the beams on the ceiling of the stadium fell, followed by screws popping and more shaking. The crowd began to scream and panic. Lyra stumbled against the battletop and looked around wildly in alarm; Zero copied her movements with equal alarm.

"What's going on?!" she yelled over the screams of the crowd.

At that moment, Ribbita's voice was heard over the intercom. "Attention everyone! This is an emergency! The floating arena's support system has been damaged by the netbattle and it seems that we're sinking! We've just been contacted by the authorities and the championship match is being canceled. Please head for the exits immediately!"

People began to run out of the stadium. Everyone was pushing and shoving each other just to get outside. Lyra looked over to Alicia. "Alicia, run! We'll be right behind you!" she yelled.

Alicia nodded in response and ran out of one of the many exits around the stadium. Lyra was about to jack out Zero when a voice stopped her.

"You dare call yourself champion?"

Zero's senses twitched and dodged off to the side. A blast hit the where he had been standing only milliseconds before and was nothing more than charred ground. Zero followed the blast up to its owner which was a netnavi that strongly resembled an Egyptian coffin. His arms were crossed over his chest and he had deep crimson eyes.

The netnavi floating above him spoke. "I, Pharaohman, declare that I am the supreme solo netnavi."

**Eclipse: And done. I decided to combine chapters 10 and 11, so here's the end result.**

**Lyra: Not bad, but what's next?**

**Eclipse: Well, let's just say you're gonna hate it.**

**Lyra: should I even ask?**

**Eclipse: No, you shouldn't. Anyhow, please review. I only just got back from freshmen trip, so I may be a little sloppy. Bye for now!**


	11. Ch 11: Deletion

**Eclipse: Yo! Here's yet another chapter of MMZS!**

**Lyra: Haha! Good to see you're still yourself!**

**Eclipse: What makes you say that?**

**Lyra: You've just had a bit of a temper for the last few days. I'm just glad you're getting back to your old self again.**

**Eclipse: Thanks. Anyhow, you guys have no clue of how long I've been waiting to write this chapter. While sad, I've still been excited about it. Disclaimer is on the first chapter, so I only own my OCs. Anyhow, here's chapter 11!**

**Chapter 11: Deletion**

_*Last chapter*_

"_And that's it folks! The winner of the B block finals is Zero and his netop Lyra!" Ribbita yelled over the intercom._

_The netnavi floating above him spoke. "I, Pharaohman, declare that I am the supreme solo netnavi."_

Zero stared up at the netnavi above him in disgust. "No one's supreme. There's always someone better than you. And I'll prove it!"

With those words, Zero leapt up at the navi before him, his saber raised. Just before the saber made contact with Pharaohman, the Egyptian navi disappeared in a flurry of data. Zero landed on the ground and looked around him wildly in an effort to locate Pharaohman.

"Hmph, pathetic."

Zero gasped and turned around. Pharaohman floated behind him calmly, not even fazed by Zero's attack.

Zero let out a feral growl. "Why you…"

Outside the battleground, Lyra stared on in panic and disbelief. "Zero, c'mon! We need to go! This guy is a lot stronger than he looks!"

Inside, she knew exactly what Pharaohman was. He was a navi that SciLab created to control the flow of data across the net. Not only was he able to manipulate data freely, but he was also very powerful. She knew that if Zero fought him, he would be deleted. She didn't want that to happen, but she knew that Zero's pride would never let him run away. Despite this, she continued to plead with him to leave and live to fight another day.

Zero heard the yells of his netop and turned to face her. "Sorry Lyra, but this guy needs to be put in his place. I can't leave yet. And don't worry; today ain't my day to die. I've been through worse."

Lyra fell silent. She tipped her head downward, not even daring to look at her navi. Slowly, she smiled and looked him in the eye. "Alright, but I'm staying behind to help Zero. I'm not letting you face him alone."

"Thanks Lyra," Zero responded.

With that issue sorted out, Zero charged Pharaohman again. Lyra waited with all the battle chips Zero might need to at least have a chance at beating the monstrosity that was Pharaohman. Instead of moving, Pharaohman stood still. Zero thought that his blade would make contact, but just when he was mere inches away from hitting Pharaohman, his saber hit a shield of sorts. He struggled to break it, but he found that no amount of struggling would break it. He leapt back and stared at Pharaohman with a scowl on his face.

Pharaohman stared at Zero with what was probably a glare. "You dare try to defy me, Pharaohman, the supreme ruler of the net?! Traitors like you have no place in my cyber world."

"Hmph, you say that but is it really true? I'm not the one who's a power monger!" Zero retorted.

He attempted another attack, but it failed just like hi other one did. _Okay, Weil's regenerative armor was a royal pain in the butt, but this is just ridiculous! I can't even land a hit on this guy! Maybe I should've listened to Lyra…No; I'm not backing out now! I'm only getting started! _Zero thought resolutely.

"Lyra, is there anything we can do to get past that shield of his?" he asked his netop.

Lyra shook her head. "No, had you been listening, you would have heard me say that Pharaohman can manipulate data freely, meaning that he can easily summon a shield to defend himself. What's more, he can move around at extremely high speeds despite his bulk. He's virtually unbeatable!"

Zero looked back to Pharaohman. "…Well crud."

"We can try to exhaust him with continuous attacks, but I'm not even sure that will work."

"Oh well, I'm not giving up anytime soon!" he replied.

"Alright, I'll try. Z-buster, battle chip in! Download!"

Zero's Z-buster appeared in his hand. The red navi quickly took aim and fired a multitude of shots at Pharaohman while using his dash thrusters to keep himself moving around the field. He occasionally went in close and landed a few slashes with his saber on the shield. But no matter how many shots he unloaded and how many blows he landed, nothing phased Pharaohman's shield.

During this time period, Pharaohman floated inside his shield with his eyes closed. "Time to end this," the Egyptian navi muttered.

Just as Zero was about to make another attempt at slashing his shield to ribbons, Pharaohman let down his shield and sent a blast hurling towards Zero. For a few seconds, time seemed to stop for Lyra as she watched the small laser beam hit where Zero's heart would have been if he were a human. Her navi gasped for air and fell to the ground in a weakened heap. His saber clattered out of his reach as digital blood began to stain his vest and hair.

Horrifically, Pharaohman didn't stop there. He continued to hammer Zero with laser blasts; each hit made contact with the red navi, causing him to yell out in pain. He was blown backward by the sheer number of direct hits he took and once again fell to the cracked ground. Pharaohman floated over and began to prepare another laser blast.

Lyra finally got sick of staying silent. "Please stop! Leave him alone!"'

Both navis, one barely conscious, turned to look at Lyra.

"Lyra…" Zero whispered.

Pharaohman just looked at the girl. "Human, you have no say in the fate of this navi. He is far too weak to call himself a champion at all. Now, witness as your navi becomes nothing more than cyber dust."

At those words, the Egyptian navi turned back towards Zero. The near-deleted navi stared back with a brave glare, determined to spit in death's face until the very end.

Pharaohman's unfeeling gaze returned his. "Die."

With that, the laser beam fired, piercing Zero's heart. He gasped again before going still. Lyra couldn't tell if he was breathing or not.

Satisfied with his work, Pharaohman turned away from Zero. "Now to take care of the other two…"

The Egyptian navi disappeared in a flurry of data. Lyra, who didn't even care about her well being anymore or even the reports on Lan and Chaud's battle- which was still going on surprisingly-jumped over the stand that separated her from the battletop. She dashed up to the glass screen that projected the battlefield and started banged her hands against it.

"Zero! ZERO!" she screamed in horror and sorrow.

She continued yelling her navi's name for several minutes. Tears poured down her face as she begged for his life. She pleaded with him to get up, to be alive, but none of her pleas were answered for several minutes.

Zero finally twitched and turned his head in the direction her voice was coming from. He opened his now dull blue eyes quite slowly. "Lyra…?" he muttered.

A small smile replaced the frown that had occupied Lyra's face. "Zero!*sniff* You're alive!"

Zero smiled in return and pushed himself onto his forearms. He slowly got up from his position on the ground, but he did so in a rather haphazard way. He then hobbled towards her, his artificial blood splattering on the ground. His sense of balance was clearly off and most of his hair was died red from his blood. One of his hands clutched his chest where Pharaohman hit him. His blood had stained his armor and it now looked more crimson than its normal scarlet.

Just the sight of her navi made her burst into tears yet again. He looked like he'd walked out of a bloodbath.

Just before he reached the wall that separated him from his netop, he crumbled to the ground. A low grunt escaped him due to the severity of his injuries. By now, he had started to de-rizz and his data was breaking apart in intervals.

As she saw him collapse, she screamed out his name in worry. "Zero!"

He crawled the rest of the way over to her. When he got there, he slumped to the ground again. Lyra felt her knees give out and she crumpled to the ground. Her forehead was pressed against the screen, as were her hands. Zero observed her as she cried. He wished he could do something to reassure her, but that was all but impossible now.

"Lyra…I don't think I'm going to make it out of this one…" he hoarsely whispered.

"Zero don't say that! We can get gramps or Dr. Hikari to fix you up! Just hold on and I'll jack you out!" she pleaded.

He smiled at her attempts to save him. "Lyra, there's nothing you can do for me now."

"No don't say that Zero! You're like family to me! I'm sick of losing people and I don't want to lose anymore! Please don't leave me Zero! Please!" she sobbed.

Zero felt tears beginning to creep to the corners of his eyes. He pressed his hand up against the screen over where Lyra's was. She looked up to see her navi crying. Zero, the God of Destruction, the legendary Maverick Hunter, was crying for her. Her heart felt as though it was going to break in two at that moment.

"It's good to hear you say that Lyra. I honestly couldn't have asked for a better partner," he told her.

"Zero…"'

"When we first met, I thought you were young, immature, ad definitely not capable of handling a navi like me properly. You proved me wrong within a two minute period and even got me to open up to you. Not many people can do that," he paused as a sudden wave of pain overcame him. He gasped and Lyra began to freak out again, but he continued to speak, "After all the weeks of hard training, I actually considered you one of the best friends I'd ever had. You were understanding of my stoical nature and let me have my space when I needed it. And even when Reina told you what I was in a previous existence, you still trusted me. And for that, I thank you."

Lyra was speechless. She had absolutely nothing to say to that.

"Lyra Matsurba, it's an honor to say that I was your friend. Take…care…of yourself for me…" with those words, his hand fell from the glass and landed on the ground with a thump. His eyes became cloudy and glazed over. His data shattered again before reforming. Then, starting from the tips of his boots, his form began to dissipate in a shower of red white particles.

"Zero no!" Lyra cried out in horror. But when she looked at his face, she found that his eyes were closed and he had a calm smile on his face. She cried at the sight of her navi actually staying calm at his own deletion. Her tears continued to pour forth as the last traces of him turned into cyber pixels and disappeared. Another rumble shook the stadium and, despite her wishes, the now navi-less netop grabbed her PET and made a mad dash for the other stadium. All the while, her PET flashed the word deleted in red writing on the home screen. But she failed to notice a small window had opened on the screen, with a small, stylized Z decorating it. The screen soon minimized, leaving the homepage vacant.

She arrived at the other stadium to find Lan in a state of shock. Chaud stared at his opponent incredulously, but she had no clue of why he was so shocked. Masa, who hadn't left apparently, ushered the netops out to the rescue helicopters Lyra had seen on her sprint over to the stadium. When Masa asked her where Zero was as they walked out, she didn't say a word in response. Masa got the message and continued urging them to the choppers. As the flying machines left the sinking stadium behind, all Lyra could do was look out the helicopter window and cry for her lost friend.

When the helicopters reached the mainland, Chaud volunteered to take her home. Had she been in her normal state of mind she would have been surprised, but the emotional blow was too much for her to handle. She was totally deadpan in comparison to her old self. The two got into Chaud's limo and took off.

The car ride to her house was awkward to say the least. Lyra didn't say a word at all to Chaud, leaving the Protoman's netop a bit unnerved. It had started to rain on the way back to her home and it added an air of sorrow to the already grim atmosphere.

Chaud shifted around uncomfortably as he observed the former netop. She appeared to be nothing more than a shadow of her former self now that Zero was gone. Of course, he knew the death of her parents still weighed on her, so that didn't help at all. It was almost as if the life had been sucked out of her, leaving nothing but an empty husk in her place. As he observed her, his netnavi Protoman spoke up.

"Chaud sir," he said.

"Yes Protoman?"

"Her house is coming up. You should alert her soon."

"Thanks. This is going to sound like a weird question, but do you think she'll ever netbattle again Protoman?" Chaud already knew the answer to his question, but he wanted to hear his navi's opinion.

"In all honesty, I don't believe so. I never saw them netbattle, but I'm sure that they were extremely close if she's acting like this," he answered.

Chaud nodded. "I thought so. Thank you Protoman. Please alert Dr. Matsurba that we'll be arriving soon."

"Yes sir."

As he looked back to Lyra, he found that she was staring at him. She was teary eyed, but her eyes were totally dead. Other than her sorrow, she wasn't displaying any other emotion. She held his gaze for a second or two longer before returning her gaze to what was outside the window. He glanced down at her hands to find that they were still wrapped around her PET. He sighed. She would never netbattle again because of this. The reason? Simple. Other netnavis weren't _her _navi.

They weren't Zero.

As they pulled up to her home, Chaud offered to walk her up to the door, but she refused him with a simple shake of her head. She stepped out into the pouring rain with little regard for the liquid. As she approached, the front door opened and her family quickly crowded the doorframe. Her grandfather held a blanket in his hands and her siblings peered out from behind him, each teary eyed or staring at her in shock.

As she came within five feet of her family, her emotions got the better of her. She sprinted the remaining distance to them and into her grandfather's arms. She sobbed into his chest miserably as the scene of Zero getting deleted replayed itself in her head. Her other family members disappeared back inside, leaving only her, Chaud, and her grandfather outside. Her grandfather looked at the vice president of Blaze quest and whispered a small thank you as a substitute for Lyra herself since she was too emotionally weakened to do so herself.

The two Matsurbas went inside, leaving an incredulous Chaud staring at their door from the shelter of his limo.

Inside, Lyra's siblings were embracing her. Lee and Elizabeth had curled up against her and were asleep. Sam, Trey, and Ash sat on the couch on either side of her. The pressed in close to her as she continued to cry. Her grandfather, unknown to her, took her PET and drove to SciLab so he could analyze it for whatever reason. After a while, all six Matsurba siblings were asleep on the couch, each experiencing sorrow for a lost family member that was important to all of them.

At SciLab, Dr. Matsurba busily examined Zero's reploid body, which he had received when he began to revival project. With the body purged of the virus that had plagued it, he no longer worried about infection or anything of the such. As he examined it, he cross referenced data from Lyra's PET. He had no clue how, but during Zero's final moments, the red navi had unknowingly transferred a copy of his memory data to Lyra's PET. He hoped that by using that data and data from Zero's reploid body, he could somehow revive Zero himself. The only problem was that he was missing huge chunk of data from his collection. As he looked the body over, he found nothing wrong with it. When he got to the helmet though…

He wanted to face palm himself for his stupidity.

A lot of Zero's data had been stored in the jewel on his helmet, which he had given to Lyra as a gift when he gave her Zero. He knew that it would have to wait for the next day, but he started on rebooting Zero's body. It lacked a few things, such as a power source. Sure, it had a power core to keep it running, but that core was useless without an energy source. As he continued to work and research using SciLab's achieves he began to hear a voice calling for Lyra from her PET. He noticed it and walked over to the device. The screen that had popped up after Lyra's netbattle had returned again, this time accompanied by the voice of a young man calling out for his netop. Dr. Matsurba smiled and set the PET on his desk as he continued to work.

_He never gives up, does he? _He thought in minor amusement.

**Eclipse: Okay, sad chapter done! On to the next one.**

**Lyra: you killed Zero… :(**

**Eclipse: He's not dead! Did you not read the last part?!**

**Lyra: Oh.**

**Eclipse: I am stuck with a complete idiot. Anyhow lease review and tell me what you think. I'll see you all in the next chapter. Bye! Oh and if you have any ideas for a new closing line, tell me! I seriously need a new one!**


	12. Ch 12: Return of the Legend

**Eclipse: Okay, after the previous chapter, which was depressing, I'm actually happy to write this one. **

**Lyra: Is this going to turn out good for me? **

**Eclipse: Yeah. You'll be happy with the end result. Anyhow, disclaimer is on the first chapter, so on with the story!**

* * *

**Chapter 12: Return of the Legend**

*Three days later*

When morning came, Lyra didn't want to t wake up. No light pooled on her bed as it usually did since it was raining. Heck, it'd been raining since the night Zero was deleted.

In that period of time, she had become completely deadpan and isolated from the world. Also during this three-day period, Lan and his friends had dealt with Pharaohman. Sadly, she hadn't done anything to help since she no longer had a navi. When news finally got back that Pharaohman had destroyed both himself and Wily, Lyra couldn't help but fell a surge of sadistic pleasure. Wily and Pharaohman had finally gotten their just rewards for what they did to her and Zero.

That surge of twisted pleasure was the only time she'd felt something other than sorrow since Zero's deletion.

So finally, after minutes of tossing and turning, the former netop got up. She trudged down the stairs and into the kitchen, where her siblings were having breakfast.

"Hey sis!" Lee called cheerily.

All he got in response was a nod from his sister, who went about shutting the fridge and sitting down at the table in the middle of the kitchen. Her siblings visibly deflated and they came to sit at the table with the husk that was their sister.

As they watched her sip her drink, they began to talk.

"Where's Gramps Sam? Has he come back from Scilab yet?" Trey asked.

Sam shrugged. "I dunno. If he did, we were all asleep by then."

"Don't tell me he pulled another all nighter! This would be the fourth one this week!" Ash piped.

"Well-"

"He's not back yet."

All head turned towards the owner of the extremely dull voice. Lyra ignored their stares and continued explaining in a monotone. "He took my PET to SciLab when he left last night. I imagine he won't be back until later."

Her siblings fell silent. They'd gotten her to speak, but the fact that she was using a monotone, she never had in the past, alarmed them. It only meant that she was even more damaged than they'd thought.

Harpuia sighed from his PET. "Sam, trying to get her to talk is the last thing you want to do. She's too weak-minded to handle another break-down."

"Alright. But if she doesn't talk about it, she might never go back to being herself. Ever!" Sam argued.

"I highly doubt that'll happen," His navi responded.

"Why do you say that Harpuia?"

"When Lyra lost her parents, you told me that she went into a state similar to this one. You also told me that she bounced back a few weeks later. While I sincerely hope that this will be one of those cases, it's unlikely. If the death of your parents still weighs on her, then losing Zero only made the pain worse. To compensate, Lyra has probably decided to stop showing emotion self consciously. As a result, she appears deadpan to everyone around her, but in reality, she's really just an emotional wreck."

Sam thought over Harpuia's explanation. "I think you're right Harpuia. But still, I'm not letting her off the hook. She needs to come over to Yai's place with us today."

Harpuia's eyes became filled with confusion. "Since when was this planned?"

His netop sighed. "Last night. Before Lyra came home, I contacted Yai and asked if we could netbattle at her house. She agreed and that's that."

"Sam, she'll be fine on her own. You don't need to play the role of over-protective brother."

"But I have to Harpuia."

"And why's that?"

Sam looked around to check that his siblings weren't listening in. Luckily, they were absorbed in their own conversations, so it wasn't a problem. With that verified, he turned to Harpuia. "I'm afraid of what she'll do when we're away."

"What could she possibly do that would…make…you…worry…" realization dawned on the former wind general, "You aren't suggesting that she might attempt suicide are you?!"

"Keep your voice down Harpuia. And yes, that's exactly what I'm implying. If she does attempt it, I want to be there to stop her," he whispered.

Harpuia nodded in understanding.

* * *

Later that day, the Matsurba siblings were on the way to Yai's house. Dr. Matsurba had not come home just yet, so they probably had a lot of time to spare. As a fail-safe, Trey sent an e-mail saying that they were at Yai's house. At the moment, the group of children was walking in Yai's front gates. The gates shut behind them and they continued on to Yai's tree house, where the group always went to netbattle for fun.

Inside, Lan, Yai, Dex, Tory, Maylu, Pyro, Tsunami, and Shadow were waiting for them.

As the siblings walked in, everyone shared a knowing looking, directed mostly at Lyra. They observed the young girl as she sat down one of the couches. She noticed that they were watching her and stared at them with an indifferent expression on her face. Everyone present, even Lan, sighed at the sight of their now lifeless friend. She was so much different than the other Lyra they knew. Heck, she might as well be a different person.

Despite the fact that Lyra would not be partaking in the netbattle, everyone jacked in their netnavis. As the navis appeared on the net, a hush fell over them. Even though they were there to have fun, they still couldn't ignore the fact that one of their members was still gone.

Harpuia spoke up. "So…shall we begin?"

The other navis responded with mute nods. As they began to decide who would battle who, Leviathan walked up to Harpuia.

"Harpy, can I talk to you alone?" she asked quietly.

Harpuia nodded in confirmation. The two navis walked off towards a secluded section of the net.

Sam watched as his navi walked away with Leviathan. Even though he was curious as to where they were going, he knew it was a bad idea to go along with them. Instead, he cut off communications with Harpuia and let him have his time.

* * *

On a different server, Harpuia and Leviathan sat on the grassy ground. Why Yai had installed a park-like server was beyond the two of them, but they enjoyed the quiet of the area they were in.

Harpuia turned to his old fighting partner. "So what is it you wanted to talk to me about Levi?"

Leviathan looked down at the ground. "It's about Lyra."

"Oh."

"I got an e-mail from Protoman last night saying that Lyra's condition wasn't very good. I'm pretty sure everyone got the e-mail, but I didn't believe it until I saw her. Is she doing okay?"

Harpuia sighed. "No. She's actually a lot worse than even I expected. She's barely said anything all day and she hasn't even eaten at all. She won't even attempt verbal contact with anyone."

Leviathan gasped. "Are you worried that she'll try to kill herself?"

"Not really, but Sam is. It's understandable why, but I just can't believe that."

"Why?" Levi inquired.

Harpuia looked the former reploid in the eye. "She's a lot like Zero. She may not realize it, but she and Zero have the same tendency not give up; especially on life. I don't think she'd go as far as to kill herself when she still has family left."

Leviathan shut her eyes and thought over Harpuia's words. After a few seconds, she opened them and nodded in agreement. "I can definitely see that. But what about Zero? Do you think he's alive?"

"I don't just think, I know. He's alive, there's no doubt. He wouldn't let being deleted kill him. He probably went and did something as a failsafe just to be sure he survived. Maybe not on purpose, but he's got knack for surviving the impossible. And since Dr. Matsurba has Zero's reploid body, he should be able to revive him no sweat," he finished.

"I couldn't have said it better myself Harpy. He's probably being repaired as we speak!"

* * *

Unknown to them, that was exactly what was going on. Dr. Matsurba relentlessly worked on Zero's reploid body. It turned out that Zero's crystal wasn't a necessity, but that it held most of his battle data. Of course, this too became obsolete when he discovered back-up data on Zero's hardrive. He was very close to completing the reploid's power source, which were energy crystals. As he discovered, energy crystals produced some sort of radioactive energy that powered reploids and could be re-produced in a lab.

He hummed to himself as he worked. A bit of hydrogen here, a bit of nuclear energy there…and presto! One energy crystal completed!

As he picked up the completed energy crystal, he went over his equations in his head. The crystal should at least give Zero a month's worth of energy. He inserted the energy crystal into Zero's power core. The scientist then went back to cleaning various systems and wires. He had to be sure that Zero would be fine when he was activated.

After about an hour's work of cleaning systems, Dr. Matsurba walked over to his computer. On it, he had Zero's personality and memory data ready for transfer. He pulled out two extension cords from the desk and attached them to each other so that they would be long enough. Gently, the scientist opened a slot on the dormant reploid's neck. The slot contained a singular drive plug-in. The scientist inserted the cord into the port and walked back to his computer. A window opened up asking him if he wanted to transfer the data he'd selected. He clicked the "ok" option and watched as a loading bar appeared on the screen.

The next few minutes were spent in tense silence as the doctor waited for the bar to fill up. Five minutes passed, but the bar finally became full. A small window popped up again saying that the transfer was a success. Nathaniel sighed in relief and walked back over to the red reploid's side. He un-plugged his cord and shut the slot on Zero's neck. The researcher put everything back in his desk as he eagerly awaited the reploids awakening. After a few moments of silence, a pair of deep blue eyes opened for the first time in over two hundred years.

* * *

Back with Lyra and her friends, the netops were engaging in less than heated netbattles. Every move they made was slow and sloppy. Harpuia and Leviathan had come back and were watching with bored expressions. Everyone seemed distressed and tired because of the way two of their friends were acting. The battle came to a close because neither navi nor netop wanted to continue. On the sidelines however, Lyra was shaking. The battle between Glyde and Megaman sent a sense of familiarity down her spine.

On the battlefield, which was now empty, she could see a red netnavi caught in a deadlock with Harpuia. The navi's long blond hair trailed out behind it as the gust created by the clashing of its saber with Harpuia's. All the while, the red navi had a competitive smirk plastered onto his face. His eyes shone with pleasure as he went up against a challenging opponent. In front of the screen, she could see her brother Sam standing next to a young girl. She had brown hair and like her navi, she was smirking.

Lyra rubbed her eyes, but the apparition wouldn't fade away. _Wait…that's me!_

Lyra gasped as she realized what she was seeing was a memory and not an illusion or a trick. It was the day after she'd gotten Zero. She'd promised Harpuia that Zero's next battle would be with him. They'd come to Yai's house to duke it out and everyone had been watching.

Tears came to Lyra's eyes as she recalled her better times with her partner. _How could I have forgotten about you Zero? _She thought shamefully. _After all we've been through together; you'd think that I'd be stronger than this! IDIOT! I'm such a freaking idiot!_

At those thoughts, Lyra got up and dashed out the door of the tree house. Sam realized that something was up when she ran out of the tree house's door, so jacked out Harpuia and raced after her, but he didn't even have to go that far. In fact, she was only on the porch of the wooden tree home. She was sitting down in one of the three chairs that'd been set out on the porch. She was crying, but one moment she'd crying and the next she'd be laughing at herself.

Sam sat down next to her in concern. "You okay?"

A teary-eyed Lyra looked to him. "Sam, I'm so sorry," she said quickly, "I thought that if I cut myself off the pain would go away, but it only made it worse! Not only that, I forgot about Zero, netbattling, and everything else leading up 'till now! I'm so sorry!"

She began crying again. Sam, being the concerned brother that he was, rubbed her back comfortingly. "It's alright Lyra. Everyone makes mistakes."

"Yeah, that's right sis!" a voice spoke from behind them.

Lyra and Sam turned around to see Lee, Ash, Trey, and Elizabeth standing in the doorway.

"You aren't perfect big sister! I know you want to be, but sometimes, making mistakes is the only way to learn!" Lee continued.

"And since when did you become so wise?" Ash asked sarcastically.

"HEY!"

"Anyhow, Lee's right sis. Zero's death wasn't your fault," Trey said.

"Yeah! You didn't mean for that meanie Pharaohman to delete Zero!" Lizzie added.

"I know. The reason I ran out like that is because…because…" she trailed off.

"Because what?" Sam pressed.

As he waited for an answer, his siblings had come to sit on either side of the two older Matsurba children.

After a few moments of tense silence, Lyra took a deep breath and spoke. "After the netbattle was over, instead of seeing an empty battlefield, I saw Zero and Harpuia fighting. And us too! It was our netbattle the day after Zero and I first met! Oh Sam, I miss him so much!" she cried miserably.

Sam was shocked to say the least, but at least she was talking. "We all do. He was really a great guy. Heck, there's a reason he could battle circles around all of us!"

"That's right," Harpuia piped, "Even though I may still hold a light grudge against him, Zero is one of the most honorable people out there. It's impossible not to want to be around a person like him. He even managed to save me back when we were reploids and that's saying something."

"Harpuia's right. I know you blame yourself for what happened to him, but I'm sure Zero's still alive out there! I'm sure of it! I mean, he survived a titanic space station falling. I don't think anything can kill him!" Sam stated.

"Not only that, but Zero has reputation for his ability to somehow cheat death. I doubt something like deletion will stop him from finding a way back," Harpuia added.

"Yeah! Nothing can kill him!" Lee piped cheerily.

Ash laughed. "He's right on that one!"

"Don't give up on him yet sis!" Trey agreed.

"Please believe in him sis," Lizzie added on a bit more quietly.

Lyra looked at Sam and her brothers and sister with a shocked expression on her face. She then sniffled, wiped her eyes, and smiled for the first time since Zero's "demise". "Thanks Sam, Harpuia. I owe you guys. Now c'mon, let's go home. It's getting late."

With those words, Lyra, Sam, and her other siblings went back inside the tree house. Everyone inside was astounded when Lyra walked in with a smiled on her face. She continued to smiled as she explained why she walked out the way she did. At the end of her explanation, everyone was smiling just as she was. After a few minutes of friendly conversation, Lyra gathered up her siblings and headed back home. Her friends waved to her from the tree house's porch as they walked away. The Matsurba siblings smiled and waved back as well.

* * *

When the Matsurba siblings got home, Lyra instantly went about making dinner. Sam, Ash, Lee, Trey, and Lizzie watched happily as their sister prepared their meal. She had prepared pizza from the pizza dough they had bought at the store the other day. Pizza was a Matsurba family favorite, even among the guests they had. The dinner itself was nothing really fancy at all, just some pepperoni pizza and a batch of brownies for desert.

As the family sat down to eat, they heard the front door open and close with a tell-tale "thump". A few moments later, their grandfather walked in, but as he approached the doorframe, Lyra could swear that there was a second set of footfalls. They were heavier than those of her grandfather's. Her grandfather stopped in the doorway. Behind him, Lyra caught sight of a second figure peering around the door frame from the dimly lit hallway beyond. She couldn't make out much, but she was pretty sure she had just made eye contact with whoever it was. She was still curious, but her curiosity would have to wait.

"I see you're doing better Lyra," he observed.

She smiled. "Nice job of observing the obvious Sherlock."

Her grandfather chuckled. "It's good to see you handling all this so well. Truly, you're a sight for sore eyes."

Lyra felt her emotions plunge down a negative path when he said that. Quickly, she shook her head and re-focused.

"That's great and all Gramps, but who's with you? I know they're out there," she said. She was done with playing beat around the bush.

Her grandfather chuckled. "Oh, right, you haven't seen him yet. But let me tell you, you already know him. Quite well, actually."

With those words, he stepped inside the kitchen. With him out of the way, Lyra could see the outline of the figure. She gasped and stood up. The outline of the figure was too familiar and she didn't want to believe what she was seeing. It was just too good to be true.

As the figure stepped into the light, she put both her hands over her mouth. Red armor gleamed in the light from the kitchen light bulbs. His blond hair fell to his calves and it had a golden sheen to it. A familiar red and black finned helmet was placed upon the figure's head, but from underneath the rim of the helmet, two blue eyes stared deep into Lyra's green ones. He smiled and raised a hand in greeting.

"Hey, long time no see. Hope you haven't missed me too much," he said smoothly.

Lyra couldn't take it anymore. She surged forward, yelling the name of someone they all thought that was gone forever.

"Zero!" she cried. She flung her arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder.

He was a bit surprised to say the least. "Hey Lyra. How ya been?"

At that, Zero heard a feral growl exit the girl. A few seconds later, he was holding his cheek. It stung from where Lyra had slapped him.

"You stupid jerk! You go and get yourself deleted and yet you ask me how I've been?! What kind of person are you?! An dullard?" she roared angrily.

At that, Zero felt a bit of annoyance well up in him as well. "Oh, and you have room to talk? Being a chunk of unformed data isn't exactly the best experience you know!"

"Well that was your own fault! Unlike you, I actually tried to talk you out of fighting him! But no-you just had to stay and get yourself killed! What kind of person does that, huh?!"

"Why you-!"

Sam spoke up. "Uhh… I as much as I hate to break up this little conversation, how is it that Zero's in the real world? Unless that's his reploid…body…" he trailed off. Realization hit him and he grabbed his hair in disbelief, "Oh you have got to be kidding me!"

Dr. Nathaniel laughed. "Yes my boy, this is indeed Zero's reploid body. Now that he's free from the virus, I thought I could use his reploid body to reboot him. Since his new navi program isn't done yet, I've decided to let him wander around for a bit."

"But that still doesn't explain how he's here!" Lyra said as she gestured to the floor, "Sure he's in the real world, I can deal with that, but how are we going to get him out of there once the navi program is ready?"

"That's simple," Dr. Matsurba took Zero's wrist and removed the small diamond like thing from his wrist bracer. Underneath it was jack in port, "While I was working on Zero, I installed a jack in port so that way he could enter and leave his body when he wants to. While I still have yet to produce more energy crystals, the one he's running off of now will keep him running for a good month or so."

"Oh."

"And before I forget, here's your PET Lyra. I've been meaning to give it back to you," he held out a scarlet PET with a miniature crystal identical to Zero's embedded below the screen.

Lyra took it and flipped it in her hands. "What'd you do to it Gramps?"

"Well, I upgraded it so that you could hold more memory and data if it was ever necessary. As for the re-painting, I thought that it would be best if it fit your navi. Anyhow, is the pizza still hot?" her grandfather asked.

At those words, she felt annoyance swell up in her again. "Okay, you walk in, disrupt dinner, and now you expect the food to still be hot? Seriously?! Just stick it in the microwave. Man, and my gramps is supposed to be a genius…" Her grandfather scratched the back of his head sheepishly. Zero was chuckling along with her brothers. Finally, she let sigh, "I can't take this anymore. I'm going to bed. Zero gets the guest bedroom, good night."

With that, the now happy netop-but not showing it-trudged up the stairs, leaving her family and navi downstairs to finish off dinner. As she curled up, she could hear Zero, along with her family members, laughing and joking around. She fell asleep with a smile. _I'm glad he's back…_

* * *

**Eclipse: Done!**

**Lyra: You gave Zero his reploid body back.**

**Eclipse: Yeah. You have a problem with that?**

**Lyra: No.**

**Eclipse: Good. 'Because I'm not changing it. As usual, please review because every opinion and piece of advice is appreciated. See ya later!**


	13. Ch 13: X

**Eclipse: Back yet again with another chapter of MMZS! In this chapter, we will be introducing a new, yet well-known hero into the story. But before any of that, I'd like to clarify that this story doesn't follow the games. I'm sorry for that mix-up; I really should have mentioned it sooner.**

**Lyra: We're sorry that we didn't mention the going by the anime thing earlier. That was our own mistake and we sincerely apologize for the mix-up. But as for what this chapter is about, the title says it all, so you don't have to look farther than that! Eclispe2012 doesn't own Megaman in any way, shape, or form, but she does own her OCS, so here's chapter 13!**

* * *

**Chapter 13: X**

She immediately regretted what she'd thought the previous night. The next day, she was literally pulled out of bed. Zero has just barged into _her _room, dragged off _her _bed covers, and then promptly dragged _her_ downstairs to the kitchen with a smirk on his face all the while. If she didn't have any manners or dignity, she would probably be swearing her head off. Yes, she knew every swear and cuss word in the dictionary. However, she'd never used them. Except for that one time when she accidentally slipped up because she was late waking up while on a school trip.

The red reploid dragged her to the table, earning her small chuckles from her siblings. As much as she wanted to strangle them, she knew that doing so was a bad idea. The last time she tried that, it didn't go so well…

She sighed. This day's gonna suck. Royally.

She plopped down in a chair and Zero sat next to her. She laid her chin on the tabletop and let out yet another sigh. Her arms were laying in front of her in no particular fashion. As she grumpily sulked around, she didn't even notice the series of footfalls approaching her. A plate of food consisting of two pieces of toast, bacon, and an egg was set down in front of her. As she looked up to the source of the food, she immediately became skeptical.

"Okay, give me one good reason why I should eat the food you made Gramps? It's a known fact that your cooking is hazardous," she said as she looked up at the scientist.

The comment about the food was true. Once, when he tried to make spaghetti, he just about burnt the house down because he couldn't operate a gas burner on the stove. An even better example was when he burnt a waffle. A waffle! How in the heck do you burn a waffle, especially when you use a preset waffle maker?! To make matters even worse, he decided to stick his finger in a small cup of maple syrup that he had heated up in the microwave for 50 seconds just to see if it was warm enough. It was plenty warm enough. In the end, he ended up with a finger covered with red blisters on it. Not to mention that he was running around the kitchen and screaming like a banshee. Epic friggn' fail.

Her grandfather smiled, but the sweat drop on the back of his head said otherwise. "Well, if you don't, you won't be eating anything until lunch."

At that, the obstinate netop immediately had a change of opinion. She cautiously took a bite of her egg since toast was pretty hard to mess up unless one burned it. Bacon was just a no brainer. As she tasted it, she shrugged, mumbled a "not bad" and continued to eat.

Her grandfather chuckled lightly and turned to the newly repaired reploid. "So you finally managed to get her up in time Zero?"

The red reploid nodded in confirmation. "Yeah. Having a body certainly helps."

Dr. Matsurba laughed at the Zero's response. "Well, that's good. Your navi program should be ready by tonight, so you can return to the internet as soon as you please."

"That's nice and all, but I'd much rather stay in the real world for a bit. I'd like to see how much things have changed." Zero explained.

Nathaniel nodded in understanding, but the grim look that covered his face told Zero that his request was out of the question. Despite that, the scientist courteously explained the implications of his request. "That's not an option Zero. Reploids are supposed to be long gone. If the authorities, or even worse, the government, found out that you were back, they'd take you away and most likely lock you away for study. I'm sorry, but going out of the house is too risky."

Zero's form visibly sagged at the information imparted to him. "Darn it. At least let me go with Lyra to school. I want to make sure World Three doesn't go anywhere near her, even though they made no advances towards her. I'll only go as far as the school gates and I'll even travel from roof to roof just to stay out of sight. Please doctor?"

Nathaniel sighed. Zero was pretty darn insistent, but he wouldn't ignore a direct order unless he had a perfectly good reason to defy it. After milling over the red reploid's proposition, he sighed. "Alright, but you had better stay out of sight. I don't want to hear anything when you get back, am I clear Zero?"

Zero immediately grinned at his response. "Yes sir!"

Dr. Matsurba chuckled at Zero's enthusiasm. Just as he was about to continue, he was interrupted by Lyra getting up from the table. She placed her dishes in the sink and walked upstairs. The young girl went to her room and changed into the turquoise dress that she'd worn weeks before. She strapped one her fanny pack and tucked her now scarlet PET inside its holster. She then went about brushing her hair and doing everything that needed to be done so that she was ready. After a good twenty minutes, she dashed back downstairs.

"Ready?" Zero asked.

She nodded eagerly in response and sprinted out the door, grabbing her backpack as she did so. Well, she would have had Zero not grabbed her hand.

"Hey doctor, when's that new navi program going to be ready?" he yelled over his shoulder.

"Soon!" was the answer that he got in return.

"Okay!" he yelled back. He turned to his netop, "Now we go."

With that, both netop and netnavi, or rather reploid in this case, dashed out the front door and down the street to Lyra's school. Zero had climbed up a fire escape while the two had jogged down an alleyway and was currently skimming the rooftops above his netop so that he could keep an eye on her.

This process continued until they got to the last alleyway before the gates. Zero immediately paused and looked down at his netop. She looked a\back up at him and waved a good-bye, a gesture which he returned. With that, he silently watched as she jogged across the street and through the front gates of the school building. With his netop safely inside the school gates, Zero headed back to Lyra's house, jumping from rooftop to rooftop as he did so.

* * *

Inside DenTech Academy, Lyra was ascending the stairs to get to her homeroom as she usually did. Unlike her sullen attitude from a few days before, she had a smile on her face and a bounce in her step. Many of her classmates that she passed in the hall noticed the attitude change, but they couldn't quite discern what was making her act the way she was. As she walked into the classroom, she received several smiles and congratulations from classmates. But, at the same time, they gave her their condolences over her navi. Whenever she was presented with these, she would brush them off with a kind response, but each literally meant "I'm alright" no matter how many different ways she said it.

As she approached Alicia, the runner up of the B-block narrowed her eyes at her friend. She and Kitsune had been observing Lyra's stranger behavior and oftentimes attempted to console their friend, but it normally had no effect on her. Now, four days later, her behavior had done a complete U-turn and she was now acting as though Zero had never been deleted. Something was definitely up with Lyra.

As the netop of the "deleted" red navi sat down, Alicia leaned over from her desk to speak to her friend.

"Lyra," she whispered harshly.

Taken aback by her friend's serious tone, a surprised expression etched itself into Lyra's facial features. "Yeah, what is it Alicia?"

With a groan of irritation, Alicia responded to her friend's question. "What's going on with you? You act as though Zero was never deleted. Start talking."

Lyra, though expecting Alicia to notice her change in behavior, felt her surprise grow. Was it really that obvious? The netop looked around frantically to be sure that no one was listening in. Upon confirming that, she leaned over towards Alicia.

"Can you keep a secret?"

Alicia's features scrunched up in confusion. "Yeah, why?"

"Don't ask. Just come by my house this afternoon. I'll explain then, but once I tell you, don't repeat a single word to anyone. Clear?"

Alicia, though confounded, answered. "Crystal."

Lyra smiled. "Good."

With that, she straightened up and went about unpacking her bag. Alicia watched her in confusion, wonder exactly what would cause Lyra to even question her ability to keep a secret.

The teacher walked in only minutes later and class got started as usual. The teacher welcomed Lyra back to the classroom after her successful run at the Grand Prix, which was accompanied by much appreciated applause. Luckily for her, the teacher failed to mention Zero's deletion. That was definitely a huge relief since it saved her some grief. Alicia kept a close eye on the once socially isolated netop during class, partially because she was still a bit weirded out by the change in behavior, but mostly because it seemed too good to be true. Losing one's netnavi is generally a very traumatic event that has long-lasting effects on an individual, but Lyra had recovered in the course of only four days. That wasn't normal.

* * *

The hours ticked on until the bell rang out with its loud and high pitched song as it did every day at three p.m. Alicia had to stay at school after class to get some help on some math problems, so Lyra was forced to wait. Eventually, Lyra walked out of the school gates, accompanied by Alicia. The two friends headed in the direction of Lyra's house. Along the way, Alicia had called her parents and alerted them to the fact that she was going to spend a few hours at Lyra's place. As she did that, Lyra couldn't help but chuckle. Alicia had parents that worried about her too darn much. For instance, one time she had hung out with Lyra for the afternoon without telling her parents and they'd just about turned the town upside down looking for her.

As the two girls walked up to the front door of Lyra's home, Zero's former netop turned to Alicia.

"Remember, whatever I tell you once we're inside the house, stays inside the house okay? I can't have people finding this out or else I'm dead, so don't you dare tell anyone," she stated seriously.

Alicia rolled her eyes at her friend's distrustfulness. "Lyra, we went over this at school. I'm not going to tell anyone about whatever it is I'm gonna see. You don't need to worry."

"I know, but you can never be too cautious."

With those words, she pushed open the front door. Alicia followed the brunette inside. Both girls took off their shoes and set them inside a rack next to the door, as was the custom in Japan. They both stepped into a pair of extra slippers and entered the living room of the house. Nothing seemed to be out of place at all. Elizabeth, Ash and Lee were sitting on the couch in the center of the room watching TV with their legs kicked up on the coffee table. They all looked over to their older sister and her friend with smiles on their faces.

"Hey sis! What took you so long to get home?" Lee asked happily.

"Oh, Alicia had to get some help on a few math problems, so I had to stay longer than I'd have liked. Hey where's Sam?" Lyra asked as she noticed the absence of her brother.

"Oh, he had soccer practice. He left just a few minutes before you got back," Elizabeth explained.

"Oh."

With that explanation out of the way, Elizabeth turned to smile at Alicia. "Hi Alicia! How are you?"

The silver haired female smiled back at the youngest Matsurba sibling. "I'm doing great. Thank you. Now," she turned to Lyra with a serious expression on her face, "What is it you wanted to show me? Everything looks normal to me. God Lyra, this had better not be one of your jokes."

Lyra smiled. "Don't worry, it's not. And since when have I been the type to joke around like this? I thought that was your job."

Alicia groaned. "Darn you…"

"Oh whatever. Ash, where's Zero?" Lyra huffed.

Alicia stared at Lyra like she was insane. "Zero?"

She was even more surprised when Ash looked over his shoulder and replied. "I think he's out back again. He's spent most of the day out there."

Alicia, still confounded, just stared ahead numbly. Lyra chuckled and grabbed her friend's wrist, thanking her younger sibling as she dragged Alicia outside.

The backyard was nothing extravagant, unlike the grounds of Yai's mansion. It just consisted of a large expanse of grass with a few cherry blossom trees lining the wooden fence. There were two trees that were almost in the center of the grassy expanse. The yard itself was as big as the house's kitchen and garage combined, and both rooms were at least 20 feet across.

As Lyra looked around, Alicia spied a red and black figure laying on one of the lower branches of one of the trees. He had his arms tucked behind his head and gave the appearance of being asleep since his eyes were closed. His long blond hair hung off the side of the branch he was reclining on. His red and black helmet was a clear indication of who he was even if the blond hair hadn't identified him sooner.

Alicia, without taking her eyes off the figure, poked Lyra. She then pointed to the figure in the tree. "Uhh… Lyra? I think I found him."

Lyra looked in the direction her friend was pointing until her eyes fell on Zero's relaxed form. She smiled and walked over to the tree he was relaxing on. Alicia followed her numbly; poor girl was shocked and her mind was probably blown.

"Hey Zero! Wake up you stupid dolt!" Lyra yelled up at the red reploid.

Zero stirred slightly and opened one of his eyes halfway. Upon seeing Lyra, his eyes opened immediately. He smiled and sat up. He tossed his legs over the side of the branch and hopped down. He landed with a soft thump in front of the two girls. He straightened up, his grin still present on his face.

"Hey. Took you long enough to get back slowpoke," he teased right back. Both netop and former netnavi laughed for a few moments before Zero took notice of Alicia's presence. He turned to his operator's friend with a smile, "Hey Alicia. It's been awhile."

"Uh…huh…" was the girl's response.

Zero chuckled sheepishly for a second. "You haven't told her yet have you?"

Lyra also laughed. "No. I figured that showing her first might be good, but now I see that was far from the best plan I've had."

Zero gave her a friendly punch to the shoulder. It was light of course. "You little twit!"

"Oh whatever," she replied nonchalantly as she shoved him off to the side.

The two continued to laugh, but Alicia finally got fed up with the two of them. An anime tick mark appeared on her forehead as she spoke. "

"Okay, would someone tell me what's going on! How is Zero even alive, let alone in the real world! I need friggn' answers or else I'm gonna explode!" she yelled.

Lyra and Zero looked at each other and sighed. Lyra took her friend by the wrist and dragged her back inside the house. Zero followed close behind them. The trio came into the living room and took the chairs that weren't occupied by her siblings. With that done, the netop launched into an explanation covering everything from Zero's deletion to his reappearance in his reploid body the previous night. All the while, Alicia sat quietly, but sometimes a look of shock or surprise would ripple across her features for a few seconds before disappearing back into a neutral expression.

As the explanation ended, Alicia inhaled and looked directly at Lyra. "So let me get this straight; Zero's a robot and your grandfather repaired his body and is currently making him another navi program so he can go back to the net. But for now he's stuck in this reploid-thingy until then and he can't go out of the house. Okay, I can handle this. We've seen weirder with World Three, so this isn't the worst that could happen."

"Remember, this has to be kept a secret. If anyone found out about Zero, he'd be taken away. So you can't say anything alright?" Lyra reminded her.

The silver-haired girl gave her friend a thumbs up. "Don't worry, I won't say a word."

"Good. But hey, if you every have any questions, just ask me or my grand-"

She was rudely interrupted when the garage door slammed open.

"Speak of the devil. He's back. Finally," Lyra smirked.

Just as she said those words, Dr. Matsurba strode into the living room. Though he was temporarily surprised by Alicia's presence, he knew that it was likely that Lyra had already told her. So he put on a smile as he walked over.

"Hey Gramps! You're back!" Lee greeted happily.

"Hi Grandpa!" Elizabeth chimed.

"Hello Lee, Elizabeth. Where's Ash?" he asked.

"Right here!" Ash piped as he bolted into the room.

Ash looked up at Dr. Matsurba with a mixture of excitement and elation. "You remember what today is right?"

The scientist smiled. "Of course I do. How could I forget my own grandson's birthday?"

Alicia looked on in surprise. She looked at Lyra and jerked her thumb at Ash. "Today's his birthday?"

"Yeah. I decided not to say anything because I want you to find out for yourself," Lyra explained.

"So does that mean that he's going to…?"

"Yep. He'll be getting his own personal navi today," Lyra smiled.

As if to prove her point, her grandfather pulled out a sapphire blue box from his bag. An X was imprinted on top of the box in metallic silver color in the manner of writing roman numerals. Ash immediately reached forward, but instead of snatching it out of his grandfather's hand, he tenderly lifted it into his own. The young Matsurba walked over to the couch and sat down. His siblings sat around him, and even Zero stood behind the couch observing with a small smile on his face.

Ash opened the sapphire colored box to find a computer chip in the bottom of it, just as Lyra had when she got Zero's chip. Ash then pulled out his PET and slid the chip in. As the others eagerly waited for the loading bar to fill, Zero only smirked. He already knew what, or rather who the navi was going to be. After all, he'd been told ahead of time.

The bar topped out and his normal navi appeared on screen. Everyone sighed, but their excitement at a new member of the family was barely restrained.

"Hey! Today's my birthday too! How come I didn't get one?" Lee complained.

His grandfather chuckled. "I have my reasons, but don't worry, I still got you a gift."'

"Alright," Lee sighed in dismay.

"Lyra," her grandfather started. Lyra gazed at her grandfather in curiosity as he pulled out a chip from his pocket. He held the chip out in front of him, "I finished Zero's navi program. Just by downloading that chip into your PET and jacking Zero out of his reploid body, the program will convert Zero back into a netnavi. I'd prefer you do it right now so I can fix any glitches that might come up."

Lyra nodded and took the chip from her grandfather. She then walked over to Zero. As she did, she slid the chip into her PET. Zero removed the triangular piece on his wrist guard, exposing the jack in port that had been installed. She plugged in the jack in cord from her PET, whispering the words jack out to Zero. Zero, who had heard her words, logged out of his reploid body and back into the PET. Lyra unplugged the cord from the port as Zero's reploid body collapsed. All those in the living room, excluding Dr. Matsurba, looked at the now limp body in surprise.

Lyra, finally getting over the initial shock, asked Zero the question that was running through all of their minds. "Uhh…Zero? What. The. HECK."

Zero, from inside his PET, face palmed. "Don't worry; that's normal. Since I'm no longer controlling that body, it shut down. It'll stay that way until you decide to jack me back into it. But I have to say, it's nice being back on the internet again."

Everyone in the room let out an audible sigh. Dr. Matsurba walked over and hefted Zero's body up into his arms. "Until Zero wants to use this body again, I'm going to take it back to SciLab. If you ever want to use it again Zero, have Lyra bring you to SciLab alright?"

"I understand," the red navi responded.

Dr. Matsurba nodded. "Alright then. I have to head back to SciLab to finish up a project. I'll be home later tonight, so don't cause any trouble. I'll see you all later."

With those words, the doctor left as quickly as he'd come. The siblings heard the garage door open and the car driving out. As the noise faded, the room was left in silence.

Alicia broke that silence before it became awkward. "Well, I'd best head out."

That caught Lyra's attention. "Huh?! Why?"

"You know my parents; they don't like me staying out late. It's already five o'clock. If I don't leave now, I'll be late for dinner. Tonight's pizza night," Alicia explained.

"Alright. I'll see you at school tomorrow," Lyra sighed.

"Okay. Bye Lyra!"

"Bye Alicia!"

By the time Lyra's farewell left her mouth, the silver-haired girl had already left.

The rest of the night was spent chatting and interacting with family. The Matsurba siblings played video games and watched TV, and not long after Alicia left, Sam had come back from soccer practice. Dinner consisted of hot sandwiches and chips since it was an easy meal to cook. After that, the siblings stayed up a little longer, but they went to bed at a decent time. From her room, Lyra could hear Ash excitedly tossing and turning in his bed as he waited for the navi program to load completely. She smiled, which was shared by Zero, and fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning was eventful to say the least. Lyra woke up to Ash jumping on her bed with his PET in his hand.

"It's done it's done! My navi program's done!" he chanted excitedly.

Lyra groaned and sat up, putting on a tired smile as she did so. "Really? Let me see."

Ash handed his PET over to Lyra. On the screen a netnavi eerily similar to Megaman and Zero appeared. His helmet was sapphire blue and it had a red gem embedded in the forehead area. A sky blue section extended back from the crystal. This connected to the two jaw guards on either side of the navi's face. They looked similar to Zero's jaw guards, but they didn't protrude from the helmet like his did. The rims of the helmet were framed by sky blue highlights that extended from the center crystal to the jaw guards. He wore a vest exactly like Leviathan's, but the X was outlined in gold rather that red. He wore gauntlets identical to Zero's, but the wrist guards were white. The same went for his boots. He had warm emerald green eyes and smile on his face.

Lyra had no clue who it was, but Zero answered that question for her.

"X? Speak of the devil the old man actually managed to revive you!" the reed navi almost laughed.

X rolled his eyes. "From a cyber elf no less. It's been a long time Zero."

"Don't remind me."

Both navis groaned as cold hard reality hit them in the face. Lyra chuckled lightly.

"You predate our civilization by at least two hundred years and you call my grandpa old? Wow, and I thought Zero was bad enough already!"

Zero glared at his netop. "Not. Funny."

That only made her laugh harder. "But it _is _when you think about it!"

Soon enough, the whole room exploded into laughter. Even Zero and X were cracking up. As she laughed, Lyra had one thought roll through her mind. _Well, things just got a bit more interesting._

* * *

**Eclipse: Well, there's chapter 13 for ya. Sure, it's mostly filler, but X is back!**

**Lyra: Yeah, that's great and all, but when are you going to get to the battle chapters?**

**Eclipse: Shut up! I'll get to them when I get to them alright? Don't rush me! Anyhow, please review. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to teach this little twit a lesson…**

**Lyra: *Gulp***


	14. Ch 14: Net City

**Eclipse: Alright, I'm back again! This is the fourteenth chapter of MMZS V2!**

**Lyra: Yes! How many more chapters are we in counting?**

**Eclipse: I guess it wouldn't hurt to say, but I'm still not gonna say just because I like keeping the suspense up. Anyhow, disclaimer has been on the last thirteen chapters, so don't even go there.**

**Chapter 14: Net City**

It had been at least four days since Ash got X. Welcomes were very easy considering that two out of the three navis in the house already knew X. Lyra actually laughed when Harpuia bowed to X and said that he was happy to be back in the service of the real X. The blue navi had sweat dropped, but to Zero and even X, the way Harpuia was acting wasn't surprising. After all, he was the biggest tightwad of the four Guardians of Neo Arcadia.

After that ordeal was over, the three navis had simply chatted on how things had been since X came back. Voltar also listened in to the conversation, but the lighting bird didn't understand much of what they were talking about. But really, who could blame him? He barely knew X at all.

During the four days that had passed, Lan had both went on a trip around the world, almost like a world tour of sorts. He had come back just the previous day. Lyra and Ash were actually going over to his house that morning with Maylu to show Lan something big. Lyra didn't even know what Maylu was showing them, but she had heard some interesting rumors circulating around the net, so this promised to be interesting.

It was about 8:00 when Maylu finally came by their place. The red-haired netop was riding on her scooter. Lyra and Ash both stood outside the front door as Maylu came by. Lyra, for the first time in a little over eight months since she moved to Japan, had on a pair of black roller skates. The wheels were a black and white mix with the two colors in no particular order or shape on the surface of the wheels. Ash had gotten out his skateboard, which was black with white wheels. As Maylu passed the front door, the duo followed after her, easily catching up with her after a few seconds.

"So Maylu," Lyra started, "What is it you want to show us?"

Maylu smiled. "You'll just have to wait and see until we get to Lan's place."

"Aww!" Ash whined.

"Oh shush Ash. You don't see me complaining," his sister scolded.

Ash shot Lyra a nasty look, earning a laugh from Maylu. Such was the antics of the Matsurba siblings.

Zero and X chuckled from their PET's. "Are they always like this?" the blue navi asked.

"Yeah. You learn to get used to it," Zero responded with a chuckle.

The trio of netops arrived at Lan's house just as Lan's mother was walking out the door. The three jogged up-right after Lyra got her skates off of course-to Mrs. Hikari.

"Hello Mrs. Hikari. Is Lan home?" Maylu asked with a polite bow. Lyra and Ash mirrored the gesture as well since it was polite.

"Yes, he's still sleeping," the woman answered as Maylu, Lyra, and Ash jogged in. Cast a long glance at the trio in question, Mrs. Hikari sighed and proceeded to walk outside.

The netops sprinted up the stairs up to Lan's room. Maylu opened the door and walked in, soon followed by Lyra and her younger brother. The three found Lan lying down in bed snoring quietly. At the sound of the bedroom door closing, Lan's face scrunched up in irritation. Lyra couldn't help but chuckle at the younger netop. As she chuckled, Maylu sat down in the swivel chair at Lan's desk. The usually over-enthusiastic netop finally opened his eyes as Maylu turned to him.

"Wake up Lan! How can you sleep at a time like this?" Maylu asked cheerily.

"What, like sunrise? What are you doing up so early?" Lan groaned.

"Oh forget about it, you need to see this. The best thing since the invention of netnavis!" Maylu continued. The red-haired girl was undeterred by Lan's behavior.

"What are you talking about Maylu?"'

"Trust me; it's something we've always dreamed of," she said with an annoyed expression. She then turned away from him, "You can sleep anytime."

Lan, still half asleep, gave the expected response. "Good. How about now?"

Maylu rolled her eyes and grabbed Lan's PET. "C'mon Lan, I'm taking you to Net City! Jack in, Megaman, power up!"

With a smile, she then turned to Lyra and Ash. "Now it's your turn guys!"

Lyra smiled. "You bet! Ash?"

"All set!" he said with an excited bob of his head.

Lyra pulled the plug in cord of her PET. "Jack in, Zero!"

"Alright! Jack in, X!" Ash declared as he pulled his plug in cord as well.

"POWER UP!"

Zero and X appeared flying alongside Megaman and Roll in a data stream. Roll was dragging the unfortunate Megaman since he had no idea of where Roll was leading them. An instant later, all four navis were teleported to some kind of platform that was positioned underneath some transparent structure. The moment they appeared, blue data cubes surrounded Megaman, Zero, and X but not Roll.

"Whoa…" Megaman muttered in awe.

"ID scan," Roll offered in explanation, "It's okay; this is Megaman, Zero, and X. They're with me."

With those words, the pink navi held her hand out away from her body. A blue tinted cube enveloped it and data flashed across her eyes. A moment later, she retracted her hand and let it fall to her side casually. A circular ring of sorts then passed over her form and she disappeared in a flurry of data.

"Uhh, where'd she go?" Zero asked no one in particular.

Megaman shrugged and X just looked curious since he was still new to the whole internet thing despite spending most of his time as data. A few seconds later, what appeared to be scanners passed over Megaman, Zero, and X's bodies.

In the real world, the netops of the three navis stood around as Maylu explained how the getting into Net City worked.

"Once they've been scanned, you'll all need to sign in," she explained.

Lan smiled. "Cool. Okay…" he muttered to himself as he pressed buttons on his PET, "And there."

Lyra and Ash did the same. Once they'd all signed in successfully, an image of a flat cityscape with a ring around appeared on the screens of their PETs, along with the message "Welcome to Net City."

With that done, the same ring that had transported Roll appeared around the other navis as they too were teleported. The three navis appeared on a square platform where Roll was waiting for them. Pillars of varying sizes surrounded the structure as data whisked by. On each side of the platform, there were gate-like structures that led to who-knows where.

"Show them the gate Roll," Maylu told her navi.

The pink navi grabbed Megaman's hand and began walking towards the gate that was right in front of them. "C'mon guys. It's over here," she beckoned them.

As they passed through the gateway, it glowed and they were converted into two-dimensional versions of themselves as their data was transferred. Zero felt a little nauseous as his data moved through the net. Unlike X, who had experience with this kind of thing, he was a total newbie to long distance data transfer. And Roll and Megaman got off easy because they were programmed to move around the net freely and without trouble, so it sucked for him.

Once his world stopped spinning and his feet touched solid ground, Zero immediately bent over.

"I never want to do that again…" he groaned as the bile in his throat finally went away.

"Whoa, I can't believe it!" the red navi heard Megaman exclaim.

Zero looked up and let out a long whistle at the site in front of him. Spanning out in front of him was one of the biggest cities he'd ever seen. Humongous skyscrapers loomed above everything as multiple holographic billboards advertising games and other things floated around what looked to be city center. X, who stood beside him, was desperately trying to pick his jaw up off the ground, but he was awe struck by the cyber city. Netnavis roamed around the streets as rainbow colored data passed through specially built highways that transported it to other places. The city was at least as large as New York and its suburbs put together. Maybe even larger than that.

Once the navis had gotten a good look at the city, Maylu spoke up. "Welcome to Net City guys!"

"Awesome. It's some huge!" Lan exclaimed.

Lyra huffed in annoyance, but that didn't mean she was any less awestruck than the others. "Sherlock."

Maylu chuckled. "See? What did I tell ya? The whole thing went online while you and Megaman were away on your little vacation."

"How in the heck could I have missed this? What's worse is that Gramps didn't even tell me about it!" Lyra said in disbelief.

As the netops chatted in the real world, the netnavis had begun to walk about the streets of Net City. As they walked around, one of the billboards caught Megaman's attention.

"Hey, Aki's here!" he stated brightly.

"Aki?" X wondered aloud.

"Yeah. She's a cyber pop star. I've heard a thing or two about her, but I've never actually seen her in person," Zero explained to his friend.

"Ahh."

AS they spoke, Glyde walked over to them.

"Roll! And Megaman, so good to see you back." Glyde greeted.

"Hey there Glyde," Roll replied.

As Glyde was about to speak again, he noticed Zero and X standing beside Megaman and Roll. "Oh, I apologize Zero, X. I failed to notice that you both were here," the brown navi greeted.

"Don't sweat it Glyde," Zero said.

"What are you doing here?" Megaman asked curiously.

Before Glyde could answer, Roll spoke. "Bet I know. Running some errands for Yai, right? The cyber malls are incredible."

The tall navi nodded in response. "Yes, indeed they are. I've just returned from ordering Miss Yai a new limousine."

"Doesn't she have one for every day of the week?" Megaman said with a laugh. His laughter was joined by Zero and X's as well.

"C'mon," Roll said as she dragged Megaman away.

"See ya later Glyde," Megaman said as he was dragged away. Zero and X followed the two navis, leaving their befuddled friend behind.

As they walked towards a teleportation point, Zero started up a conversation with. "I tell ya X; I though neo Arcadia was big, but Net City takes the cake."

X nodded. "It probably ate it too."

The two navis then burst into laughter. Just when they were going to continue joking around, roll looked over her shoulder and gave them a chastising stare. "C'mon you two, we don't have all day. There's still stuff I wanna show you guys, so hurry up!"

Both navis sighed.

"Spoilsport…" Zero muttered.

"She reminds me of Alia," X said sadly as the two walked behind the pink navi.

"I'm not surprised you would say that X. I knew you had a thing for her!" Zero proclaimed with a smirk.

X immediately blushed. "I did _not_ have a thing for Alia! I don't get it; back when we were with the Maverick Hunters, everyone said I had a thing for Alia when I didn't!"

Zero gave his friend a lame stare. "First comes denial."

"Don't. You. Dare."

"Then comes love," the red navi finished with a devious smirk.

"Oh that does it!" X roared as he finally snapped.

Just before X's hands could lock themselves around Zero's neck, both former maverick hunters were rudely grabbed by their helmets as a very mad Roll dragged them to the teleportation point. The two immediately began to complain about the rough handling as they were dragged across the city, but not one of their words reached Roll.

"Ugh, I can't believe you two! I tell the both of you to keep up and the next thing I know the two of you get into a fight! Gosh, I can't even take my eyes off of you for ten seconds before you get into trouble!" she ranted furiously.

As she continued to rant, X let out an exasperated sigh. "Yep, she reminds me of Alia."

Zero too let out a sigh. "In more ways than one at that…"

Megaman followed Roll in a scared silence for fear that the pink navi would turn on him next.

By the time they reached the Teleportation point, Roll had calmed down and let go of the red and blue navis. The navis disappeared in a storm of data before reappearing in what appeared to be a mall.

Megaman stepped forward, but upon doing so, looked down and saw multiple walkways below his feet. "Whoa!"

"Oh yeah; forgot to tell ya about the transparent skyways," Roll said.

"Thanks a lot…" Megaman grumbled.

Zero also stepped out onto the walkway. "I gotta admit; this is pretty darn cool."

"You're telling me. This place is even more amazing than Neo Arcadia was," X agreed.

The group of navis continued walking around the newly built net city. They even went through the International Net Bank, where dozens upon dozens of data streams flew past into the data base to be stored and managed. As they continued, Roll pointed out many things as they passed them, such as the Navi Fit Gym, the virtual Arcade, and even a food court. When Megaman saw an ad for Aki's concert that was going on while they were walking, he insisted that they had to go. So the group, more or less grudgingly, headed to the auditorium, which was centered between many floors of the Net City Cyber mall. Once there, the group walked up to the edge of the walkway and leaned on the railing. On the bottom floor, Aki was singing one of her many songs. A crowd of navis was now beginning to form as everyone wanted to get a look at the net pop star. Holographic screens aired live coverage of the concert, so nearly everyone in net city could watch.

Unknown to them, Glyde was walking by on the other side of the walkway they were on. He contemplated saying hello, but decided against it since they were obviously preoccupied. That and he found the look on Megaman's face quite amusing…

The four navis continued watching quietly. Zero himself wasn't all that interested in Aki's performance at all. He couldn't stop thinking about how Roll's infatuation for Megaman reminded him of another situation, one that involved him and a certain blond-haired blue-eyed human from a long while ago. The red navi let out a depressed sigh. _Ciel…_

Upon seeing his friends less than enthusiastic state, X nudged him. "You okay Zero?"

The red navi gave his friend a half hearted glance. "Yeah. More or less…"

"Thinking about her again?"

Zero nodded mutely. X sighed. He knew exactly what Zero was going through at the moment. The two had chatted about the subject a few nights before when the red navi brought it up on accident. Lyra didn't know of course, and X doubted he would tell her anyway.

The blue look-alike of Megaman looked over to the side to see that Roll had dragged Megaman away again. Quickly, X nudged Zero again and pointed in Roll and Megaman's direction. Zero got the message and the two navis left to follow Roll and Megaman. The duo ended up at Higsby's Chip shop, but it was a cyber version of it. As they walked in, they were greeted by Numberman.

"Zero, X, hello!" the mathematical navi greeted.

"Hey guys. Lyra and Ash were really starting to worry about you. What took so long?" Higsby asked the two navis.

X scratched the back of his head sheepishly, but Zero wouldn't make eye contact with anyone. Though irritated by his friend's depressed behavior, he still kept his upbeat tone. "Well, Zero and I liked the music, so we stayed behind a little while longer. We hadn't even realized Roll and Megaman had left when we finally noticed, so we had to catch up with them."

"I see, well, like I just finished telling Lan and Maylu, there's an exhibition battle going on in the Net Coliseum in order to explain the new rule changes we've made since the last N1 Grand Prix," Higsby explained.

"So we're heading off then?" Zero asked. Sure his tone wasn't exactly the most uplifting, but at least he was using a tone of voice that wouldn't make anyone suspicious.

Megaman nodded. "Yep."

With those words, all five navis simultaneously teleported to the Net Coliseum. Zero, X, Megaman, and Roll appeared on Numberman's side of the field, but that didn't even matter to them at the moment. What matter to them was the awe-inspiring appearance of the Net Coliseum itself. The thing was made from concrete and steel like everything else in net city, but the battlefield was green. They probably used a different type of stone for the field itself. The whole coliseum was roughly the size of a football coliseum. Beside the battlefield was a large screen that had to be at least three to four stories tall. Zero, who had been in a bit of a funk before, was now in the same awe-struck trance as X and the others.

But sadly, even though it was a battle, Zero wasn't interested. So instead of sticking around, he left the Coliseum to get some fresh air and clear his head.

As a result, he teleported himself to the top of Net City's largest skyscraper.

Back in the real world, Lyra was panicking.

"Why would he teleport himself to the top of the tallest skyscraper in net City X? I don't understand!" Zero's netop cried.

"Well, sometimes things and events from Zero's past come back to bug him. When this sort of thing happens, he likes to have his space. In the past, Zero oftentimes went to high places, like a roof or skyscraper. This situation is no different. I wouldn't worry about him at all," X reasoned.

Lyra, despite her worried mind, took a deep breath and sighed. "Alright, I'll trust you X. When he comes back, tell him that he can talk to me about these sorts of things alright? He doesn't need to bottle them up inside himself."

"That's what I've been telling him for years. But I'll still tell him anyways."

"Thanks X."

With that, the transmission cut off and Lyra flopped back onto Lan's bed with a sigh of exasperation.

Back on top of the tower, Zero was quietly contemplating his thoughts about his past. His mistakes, his successes, everything. The red navi sighed. His musings were getting him nowhere. He stood up and just as he was about to leave, a set of footfalls behind him put him on edge. Something about whoever was behind him was eerily familiar, and he didn't like that one bit.

So slowly, he turned around and was met with a strange sight. A navi stood across from him. It was clearly male, that much was for certain. He wore a long light brown cloak that reached down to his ankles, so it only exposed his black boots. Of course, this didn't freak Zero out at all. He'd taken on similar attire whenever he'd traveled in the past. What freaked him out were the navi's eyes. Two crimson orbs, that's all they were. He wouldn't say they were dead, but something deep within that pair of crimson eyes sent a chill down his spine. The navi's helmet was also very strange. It had fins extending back from the forehead and ending by the neck, not to mention the undersides of the fins were yellow. The navi also had lavender markings extending from his cheek to his jaw line. In the middle of his helmet was a cross-shaped sky blue crystal.

Zero finally worked up the guts to speak. "Who are you?" he said in little more than a whisper.

He got an answer, but it was one he wasn't expecting.

The black navi's dark crimson eyes bore into him and the words he spoke became engraved in his mind.

"My name is Bass."

**Eclipse: And Bass has made his presence known! What's in store for Zero and what does Bass want with him? You'll have to wait 'till next chapter to find out!**

**Lyra: Okay, don't talk like a DBZ announcer. It's annoying and frankly, I'm not really sure it suits you.**

**Eclipse: Yeah, you're right on that one. Especially with all the DBZ jokes you hear every now and again. But anyhow, please review. I know I ask every chapter, but I am such a newbie that it's not even funny. Not to mention English has been the bane of my existence since my middle school years, so advice and opinions are greatly appreciated!**


	15. Ch 15: The Harbinger of Death, Bass

**Eclipse: I am so freaking sorry for the huge lapse in updates! You see, I was on vacation with my family in Orlando, so I decided to take a break from writing. Anyhow, I'm not saying a word on this chapter other than this does include the word 'hell'. Not a lot, but enough to make me feel guilty. Since a lot of Bass's (Forte in the un-dubbed) attacks from the un-dubbed anime include the word 'hell' and I couldn't find any suitable substitutes, I've decided to just use hell. Also, some of the attacks have strange names since they were un-dubbed, so please excuse that. Back to the original point, please forgive me for this. The thing is, I don't cuss, swear, curse, or say any other variations of foul language. Period. But in the next installment, I have decided to use some foul language. Not a lot of course, but a little for occasional emphasis or crude humor. It depends. Lyra, if you would please do the disclaimer, we can get this show on the road.**

**Lyra: Sure, but don't expect this too often. As for the disclaimer, been there, nuked that, nothing new needed to be said.**

**Eclipse: Nuked? Seriously?! Okay, since she obviously did it wrong, the disclaimer has been on the first chapter ever since day one, so check there if you can't locate it.**

* * *

**Chapter 15: The Harbinger of Death, Bass**

Okay, the situation Zero was in was all kinds of bad. Not only was he in a depressed mood, but now some random emo navi that he's never met-although he did feel like he was having déjà vu-had basically popped up in his face. On top of a skyscraper no less!

The netnavi across from him was completely and totally calm. He wasn't panicked nor did he even look concerned about the fact that they were on top of a _skyscraper_. His gaze never wavering away from Zero's, nor did it give away any inner emotions. They were just hard and filled with barely controlled ferocity. And all he did was stand there, with his cloak fluttering in the wind.

Whoever this Bass guy was, he sure knew how to make someone nervous, not to mention a bit disturbed.

The stare off continued for several minutes more. Neither navi spoke, but Zero felt extremely perturbed by the black navi he now faced. His feelings of foreboding and slight fear increased with each passing second.

Finally, after a solid two minutes of silence, Bass spoke. "I suggest you get in contact with that netop of yours."

the other thing that creeped Zero out was that Bass's voice had a strange echo that followed each word he said, almost like a barely audible hiss.

Despite the mildly strange voice, Zero still managed to glare at the navi in question. "And why's that?"

Bass's eyes narrowed as if Zero had just asked the world's stupidest question. "You honestly don't expect me to fight you here, do you?" Zero blinked in confusion, "I'm well aware of Net City's no battle chips rule, so get in contact with your netop. I don't plan on waiting forever."

Zero felt a bit of annoyance and anger at the navi's rather violent statement. "Why do you want to fight me? I've never even met you!"

"That's none of your business."

"That's not an answer!"

"So what?" the navi replied, "I need answers, and you're going to help me get them."

Zero growled for a few more seconds in outrage before grudgingly getting in contact with Lyra.

* * *

Back in the real world, Lyra had already returned home with Ash since the battle ended. It was dark out and it was apparent that Zero wouldn't be coming back for a few hours at the most, so the first thing Lyra did when she got home was reconnect her PET to Net City's server. This would give Zero the ability to come back from Net City once he was done brooding over his past. At the moment, she was laying down on her bed milling over some very startling information that she had received before she left Lan's place. After the battle, when Megaman, X, and Roll were hanging out on a balcony that overlooked net city, the blue navi had seen something strange. He told Lan and the others that he'd seen a strange black navi scanning data in Net City. Sadly, the description didn't go beyond a black navi wearing a cloak with red eyes and fins on his helmet. And to make matters worse, just moments after Megaman had spotted him, the netnavi had disappeared into thin air, almost like he had never been there in the first place.

As she lay down on her bed, her PET started buzzing. She bolted over to her charger to find that Zero was trying to contact her. She immediately opened the line up and Zero appeared on screen.

"What is it Zero?" she asked. Zero never tried to contact her; it was usually the other way around.

"Be ready Lyra. I'm about to log out of Net City. Have some battle chips on hand. This could be bad," the navi replied grimly.

"What do you mean Zero? What's going on?!" Lyra was now officially panicking.

"Just be ready. We really don't have time to talk."

Lyra, though alarmed by Zero's statement, did as her navi asked. Over time, she'd learned to trust Zero, and this situation wasn't any different from the other times. She believed in him and that's all there was to it.

"Alright Zero. Just be careful," she said.

Zero nodded thankfully and teleported out of Net City. While Lyra was unsure as to why he was so stoical at the moment, she did notice that another signal followed closely behind his. She didn't know what exactly to make of it, but one thing was for sure; she was certain that it meant bad things to come.

* * *

Finally, Zero stopped moving. He landed on the cyber floor of what appeared to be a PC system. It was relatively unlit, but there was enough light that one could still see their surroundings. Various bits of data floated around aimlessly, although most of it was centered around the digital manifestation of the PC's hard drive. Pillars littered the otherwise flat landscape. The sky was a rich shade of purples and dark blues. The virtual sky was dotted with small specks of white light, just like the night sky. Zero presumed that was what Lyra had designed it to look like since she was found of the later hours of the day. But it could also be that the sky changed depending on the time of day. He had once come in the PC during the day and found it to be much brighter. Of course, coming to his netop's PC may have not been the red netnavi's best idea ever…

And as such, he expected a through scolding. He didn't have to wait long.

Lyra grabbed her hair in disbelief. "Zero, what the crap?! Why did you bring whoever it is to my PC? You're gonna short out the system!"

Zero sweat dropped and scratched the back of his head, or rather helmet, sheepishly. "Uhh, I couldn't really think of anywhere else to go, so I thought your computer was as good a place as any…"

"YOU DOLT!"

As she continued to rant, Zero cringed at his netop's various sharp remarks. Man, he just had no luck whatsoever.

"Uhh, no to interrupt here, but can we focus on the problem at hand?" Zero asked.

She abruptly shut her mouth and then let out a sheepish laugh. "Yeah, sorry. But what's the…problem…?"

She trailed off as she caught sight f Bass from her holo screen. Zero stared at his netop in confusion as her jaw hit the floor. She began stuttering incoherently. Bass simply looked at her and his eyes narrowed, indicating possible disgust or even contempt.

Finally, Lyra managed to gather her wits. "You're the navi that Megaman saw!" she declared without even a hint of doubt in her voice.

"Wait, Megaman saw Bass?" Zero asked as he turned to his netop.

Lyra nodded. "Yeah, it was right after you disappeared. You said his name was Bass?"

"Yeah. That's how he introduced himself."

"I do believe I've been kept waiting long enough," came the low hiss that was Bass's voice.

Zero turned to the black navi across from him. "I don't understand," he started, "Why do you need to fight me? How is fighting going to get you answers?"

Bass was quiet for a few seconds as he appeared to contemplate his answer. Finally, he looked at Zero, but he also cast a glance at Lyra. "I have no memory," he began, "But fighting is what comes easiest to me. When I saw you on top of that skyscraper, I somehow knew that I'd met you before in a fight. So in theory, fighting you again should give me some answers."

Zero slowly took that all in. Bass didn't seem like the type to talk, but maybe the black navi felt that Zero deserved some kind of answer, or at least some form of an explanation; although he honestly didn't know. He wasn't exactly typical for a netnavi.

"Alright fine. But don't come crying to me when you lose!" Zero yelled.

The red navi drew his trademark saber from its holster on his thigh as he surged towards the midnight black navi. On the other hand, Bass threw off his cape with a simple flick of his wrist, revealing that his bodysuit was pure black like his helmet. Instead of a standard emblem, all he had was a black circle that was raised above his chest thanks to a gold setting. What made the mark so peculiar was that there was no symbol or anything. There was just a white slash going across it, almost like a scar of sorts. From that emblem, two jagged purple lines extended down from it to his knee guards.

With his cloak out of the way, Bass spoke three words. "Dark arm blade!"

As the verbal declaration finished, two black and purple blades appeared in his hands. Unlike the standard Cybersword or even Zero's saber, the blades had no smooth edges. The razor edges were always shifting, but they always maintained their ragged shape. The twin swords were larger at the tips rather than being the same standard size throughout. As Zero swung his green saber to strike Bass, the black shadow raised his blades. Zero's blade was wedged in between the two purple swords that Bass held. The two navis struggled as each fought for dominance, even if only for a short while.

Lyra decided to end the deadlock. "Zero, help is on the way! Z-saber, area steal, battle chips in! Download!"'

Zero instantly disappeared in a flash of inversed light. He reappeared a few meters away. The Z-saber battle chip kicked in, but rather than just powering up the regular blade, a second saber appeared in Zero's free hand. He glanced down at the second blade with a momentarily puzzled expression before that changed to a smirk. "Thanks Lyra!"

Once again, Zero ran up to engage Bass again, but the black navi wasn't going to let Zero get in close range. The dark blades dispersed into particles of purple light as Bass held his hands out in front of him.

"Hell Burst!" he yelled in response to Zero's attack.

Multiple yellow bursts of energy flew from Bass's outstretched hands. The orbs shot towards Zero with unnatural speed, even for energy blasts. Zero, caught off guard, suffered a few hits from the orbs; amazingly, during a lapse in the blasts, he regained his footing and charged again, this time cutting apart any energy orbs that got near him. In a matter of moments, he was right up in Bass's face.

And he wouldn't squander his chance to attack.

So, without even taking a second to even think, the red navi landed a total of four separate blows, each cutting across Bass's with extreme force. The black navi was sent careening backwards by the sheer force behind the blows. He slammed into one of the many cyber pillars that riddled the battlefield. A small crater formed where Bass's back collided with the pillar itself. The black navi then collapsed onto the ground below him in a heap.

"You think he's okay Zero? You might have overdone it there," Lyra quipped.

"Maybe. I might as well go help him up," Zero sighed.

"You and your stupid sense of honor. Remind me how I deal with you again?"

Zero chuckled at his netop's statement and started walking towards the black navi. But before he was even within five feet of Bass, the wounded navi got back to his feet and leapt off to the side. Zero, seeing that Bass was far from down, raised his blades in preparation for his opponent's next attack.

"Get ready Lyra!" he told his netop in warning.

"On it!" she replied.

Zero looked around for Bass, but his opponent had seemingly melted into the shadows created by the relatively dim lighting in Lyra's PC. He looked around frantically as he searched for his dark opponent, but luck really didn't like him for whatever reason. That or reality really liked to mess with him a lot. Either way, he was relatively annoyed. Every single time he fought, he always lost sight of his opponents at some point during the battle.

Man, he really just didn't have any luck.

Although the statement was true on a number of levels-including the glaringly obvious fact that he had no luck with women-it really didn't count since it could have happened to anyone else as well. It wasn't exactly unheard of. But still, life pretty much seemed to hate him no matter which way he put it. After all, he'd died, what, four times now? Not to mention he'd lost both of people he had ever fallen in love with **(You people know who I'm referring to. It's obvious that Zero had a thing for Iris and it was clear Ciel had a thing for Zero, but it's unknown whether those feelings were returned or not)**, while he never gotten to even say anything to the other before he died, although it was extremely clear that she had a thing for him.

But anyways, his day was about to get a bit worse.

"Not bad Zero," Bass's voice echoed. Zero looked around as he tried to locate the source of the noise, but with no avail, "I must say that I was expecting something a bit less, but you've surpassed expectations. I'm surprised you actually need to rely on a human to fight for you."

Zero frown at the ending statement, but responded all the same. "Thanks, I have a tendency to do that," Zero smirked. Despite the fact that he was being a bit prideful, it didn't mean he was getting over confident. He looked to his netop's hollow screen, "Get ready Lyra! He's going to attack soon, I just know it."

"Got it. I'll be ready," she responded.

Just seconds later a shout came out of the darkness just as Zero had predicted. "Hell Rolling!"

Two spinning purple wheels came shooting out of the blue. Their edges were serrated just like the dark arm blades before them, but instead of requiring someone to control them, these seemed to move on their own. The circular saws made contact with Zero, sending the scarlet navi flying. Bass then came rocketing out of the darkness with his dark arm blades in hand. Zero, being unable to defend himself mid-air, could only watch as the twin blades slashed through his bodysuit. The blades even breached the skin beneath, causing synthetic blood and data to pour out of the wound. He let out a yell of pain and was sent careening backwards into one of the many pillars around them, although most had been crushed due to attacks that hadn't hit their targets.

The red navi slumped to the ground an exhausted, spent heap. He wasn't sure of how much longer he would last if Bass kept attacking the way he was. His thought process was instantly de-railed as three yellow orbs of energy slammed into his body. Sure, they weren't extremely powerful, but that wasn't the issue. The issue was that the kept on coming, one after the other endlessly. Cyber dust was thrown up into the air as the orbs made contact on both Zero's body and the ground around him. Then the blasts abruptly cut off as Bass sent the two saw wheels from before spiraling into the dust cloud. Bass looked up with a grim expression on his face, although that was just his norm. As the dust cleared, Bass's crimson eyes caught sight of a flash within the cloud of settling debris. A look of shock registered on his face, but what caused it wasn't what he had seen.

"So you thought you'd taken me down, huh?"

Bass slowly turned around, only to find an unharmed and quite ticked off Zero glaring at him.

"BIG MISTAKE!"

A fist collided with Bass's cheek, sending the black navi hurtling into the ground. Zero quickly followed that up by grabbing Bass by his emblem and tossing him up into the air. He quickly rained down on the defenseless navi with a maelstrom of kicks and punches. The black navi was instantly sent flying by the intense assault. Zero landed on the ground and charged Bass again as his opponent struggled to get to his feet. His vision was becoming tainted with red as his focus and anger revolved around Bass. How he had gotten so angry was a mystery to him. Had it been because he felt helpless? Was it because he had been getting beaten so badly? Or was it because of the apparent hate Bass had for humans?

No matter the reason, he was going to defeat Bass. That was a fact.

* * *

On Lyra's end however, it was a different story. Though she was sure Zero wasn't aware of his change in attitude, it was clear for her to see. Zero had never been the type to simply whale on an opponent the way he was at the moment. He generally preferred strategic combat rather than simply beating the crap out of his opponents. Another thing that worried her was a symbol that had popped up in the corner of her screen seconds before. It was bright red and glowed ever so slightly, but what set her off was what the symbol stood for. It was the last letter of the Greek alphabet, as well as the symbol for the end.

Omega.

Whatever relevance the symbol had to Zero, it wasn't good. The thing had popped up just seconds after Bass launched his assault on Zero. Ever since it'd shown up, he navi's behavior had changed drastically.

From her screen she watched as Zero pummeled Bass with his saber. Bass had managed to summon his dark arm blades in time to block the attack, but an endless storm of slashed followed after it. As well as the mental difference between this Zero and the one she knew, there were also physical changes. Instead of being their normal deep blue color, Zero's eyes had changed to red. They had a wild and almost demonic look in them, making it feel like she was staring to the eyes of a bloodthirsty monster. Another noticeable feature was that the crystal on his helmet was glowing with a brilliant light, though she was sure that wasn't a good thing. Also, his armor was getting progressively darker, starting from the crystal and moving outwards. His hair, rather than remaining blond, had been bleached to a white-blond color. Even his saber had gone from its trademark green to almost a violet sort of color.

* * *

Back on the battlefield, zero had Bass pinned. The black navi was weathered and beaten from his fierce battle with Zero and he couldn't fight on. But instead of stopping there, Zero strode up to Bass. The black navi shivered in slight fear of the now demonic navi, or rather destruction incarnate. Zero's aura radiated fear and bloodlust like a plague, spreading to all those who so much as looked at him. During the course of the fight, from the period when Zero changed to the present, the battlefield had been torn to pieces. But it wasn't Bass's handiwork.

It was Zero's.

The red navi had ripped apart the battlefield trying to completely annihilate Bass. Lyra was sure that the safety restraints her grandfather had placed on Zero were gone, or at least breached during this period in time. While she would have been calling for her grandfather so that he could help her, the female netop was too stunned to so much as move a muscle in response to her navi's behavior. It was both terrifying and amazing just witnessing the power that lurked under the surface of the being that was Zero. Despite that, whoever this navi was, he wasn't Zero. She wasn't even sure if the monster she was looking at was Zero anymore.

Zero now stood right in front of Bass with his saber in his hand. The crimson destroyer raised it above his head as he prepared to finish Bass off. Bass, who was too tired to even attempt to evade, looked on in horror as the blade began to drop, the tip aimed at the center of his navi emblem. And Bass was never afraid of anything. Ever.

The saber fell and Bass looked away as its sickly glow neared his chest.

"Stop it Zero!"

At the sound of his netop's voice, who hadn't really interfered with the battle as much as she usually did, Zero's blade stopped mere centimeters away from Bass's scarred black emblem. Zero grasped his head in pain as he suffered from the human equivalent of a migraine. The red spots in his vision cleared and he suddenly felt dizzy and quite faint, almost like only half of him was there.

* * *

On Lyra's end, the results of the sudden halt were coming to fruition. Zero's armor was reverting back to its scarlet color rather than crimson and the glow from his head gem was subsiding. His eyes were returning to normal and even his hair was regressing back to its blond colored glory. She watched as her navi collapsed on the shredded rubble inside her computer, leaving a very confused Bass sitting on the ground in front of him.

She looked to the black navi in concern. "Are you alright?"

A mute nod answered her.

She sighed in relief. "That's good. At least you weren't deleted."

Bass, now calm, glared at the human and pushed himself off the ground. "Hmph, I don't need you worry human. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"What the heck is your deal? Why do you hate humans so much? We never did anything to you!" she scowled.

Bass looked away from the human, not wanting her to see the pained expression on his face. While he couldn't remember everything just yet, he distinctly remembered feeling betrayed at some point, but he couldn't remember when or why. He looked back at the red navi on the ground behind him. The former reploid was drastically weakened from using so much power at once as well as just being tired from fighting so long.

"When he wakes up, tell him we will meet again, and the next time we do, I'll be the one to defeat him," Bass said cryptically. The black navi then disappeared in a flurry of data, leaving no trace that he was ever there.

Lyra looked on in confusion at where Bass once stood. _Seriously, what's that guy's deal? _She thought in minor annoyance. Since she was now alone, she looked at her collapsed navi. Zero quietly groaned a few times in his sleep, his face contorting into a grimace. She quickly downloaded a recovery chip and jacked him out in hopes that a good night's sleep would be enough to drive away whatever it was that had possessed Zero. Regardless, she would have to tell her grandfather about this.

* * *

Unknown to either her or Zero, a slumbering consciousness writhed around inside the red navi's mind, desperate to free itself from its mental prison. It was generally a mass of red-black energy, but every now and again it would take form and attempt to free itself, just like it was at the moment. The figure was very distinct for just an imprisoned consciousness. Everything from the long hair to the humanoid figure to even the glowing gem on its forehead was very familiar since it so closely resembled its host. A pair crimson eyes, full of malicious intent and bloodlust opened, glaring at the confines of its host's mental dungeon. Slowly, the eyes closed again and the figure returned to being a mass of energy as it once again fell into slumber until it was awakened again.

* * *

**Eclipse: Okay, just to get you reader excited, there's a few more chapters left for me to write. Even though I'm not saying what they're about or how, I'm just giving you a little "heads up" that his story will be reaching its conclusion very soon.**

**Lyra: Don't worry; the Zero Saga will be continuing after this. Eclipse here has plans. **_**Big**_** plans.**

**Eclipse: You bet I do! Anyhow, tell me what you think here because a lot of what happened here is going to tie into the next installment of the Zero Saga. I'm not saying what exactly, but some of this will transfer over.**

**Lyra: As she said, please give her your thoughts regarding this chapter. Feel free to leave a review and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to mention them. We like answering questions from the readers. Who knows, maybe we'll actually start answering some in the pre-chapter commentary in the next installment just for the heck of it. We don't know, but it's all part of the process. Anyhow, review!**


	16. Ch 16: The End

**Eclipse: Alright, I am coming back with a vengeance. Sorry for not updating in awhile, so here's yet another chapter to make up for it. Also, Welcome to the final chapter!**

**Lyra: Don't worry, she's still got an epilogue to write, but this is the last official chapter of this story. After three months and some odd number of days, this story has reached completion!**

**Eclipse: As such, the next installment will likely be up before August or so, it depends on how fast I can get the epilogue done. Anyhow, Standard disclaimer has been on Chapter 1 for awhile now, so refer back to that if you are unable to locate the disclaimer elsewhere. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Chapter 16: The End**

*The next morning*

Lyra woke up early that morning. She hadn't set her alarm or anything, but her worry for her partner navi made her edgy and a bit eager to get him checked out. She changed into her normal outfit and went downstairs to get breakfast while Zero got some extra sleep.

Or so she presumed.

As she descended the stairs into the kitchen, her brothers, who were also up early for once, eyed her worriedly. She trotted over to the fridge and pulled out some juice and milk, as well as getting out the cereal from the pantry. She poured herself a bowl quietly while her brothers observed her in silence.

Finally, the silence became unnerving for the four younger Matsurba siblings, so Sam spoke up.

"Uhh…Sis?" he started uncertainly.

His sister turned to him with a mildly surprised look on her face. "Hmm?"

"What happened yesterday? We heard you yelling last night," he continued.

A sweat drop formed on the back of Lyra's head as she desperately tried to come up with a valid excuse. "Well, you see…I kinda had a nightmare, so I woke up yelling and…"

"It's Zero, isn't it?" Sam stated flatly.

Lyra, seeing that her siblings could see right through her, so she just sighed and nodded. Her shoulders slouched and she took to staring at the ground with a rather depressed look on her face.

"Yeah," she began, "I don't know what happened, but from what I could tell, it was almost like he became a different person entirely. I couldn't even recognize him."

"Then it's a good thing that Gramps to him to SciLab this morning," Ash said.

His older sister turned to him with a look of disbelief. "He what?!"

Ash raised his hands in defense as he tried to sedate his near raging sister, but Lee picked up where he left off. "Yeah. Like us, he heard you yelling, but by the time he got up there, you were asleep. I guess he figured something happened to Zero, so he took your PET to SciLabs so that he could examine him last night."

Lyra face palmed. "How the heck did I miss that?"

As the kitchen went silent, Lizzie walked down the stairs drowsily, still her pajamas. She dragged her teddy bear down with one hand while the other rubbed her eye. "Why's everyone being so loud?" she yawned.

She received no answer, though Lyra dashing past her wasn't exactly what she expected. At that, her eyes widened and followed her sister's fleeting form up the stairs. Then, like her brothers, her expression became incredulous as she stood frozen to her spot.

Lyra slammed her door open. She flew into the room and quickly got ready. After that, she sprinted back downstairs, where her siblings stared at her again, and shot out the door in her roller skates. Her siblings stared after her for good few minutes before resuming their normal activities. Unlike their sibling, they weren't in a hurry for anything; it was Saturday after all.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lyra skated her way towards SciLabs. The female netop was halfway between worry and rage at the fact that no one told her that Zero had been taken to SciLab the previous night. It both ticked her off and worried her at the exact same time. As she skated on, many people cast strange glances in her direction, probably because of the fact she appeared to be rushed. She decided about midway that taking the conventional route to SciLab wouldn't work, so she cut through the city park. As usual, many people were walking around the grassy expanses. Of course, Lyra had no time to admire her surroundings. As such, she darted through countless people and oftentimes had to squeeze through tight spaces. She zigzagged out of the park and shot down the street to SciLab, though it was still a good ten blocks away. Amazingly, she reached the front of the building in less than ten minutes. She took off her skates and walked calmly inside, but in reality, she just wanted to dash in and sprint to her grandfather's laboratory.

Lyra calmly walked up to the receptionist and asked where her grandfather was. She said that he was in the scanning room with Dr. Hikari. Lyra thanked the lady and walked away, but the moment she rounded the corner, she broke into an all out sprint. She ran to the scanning room, which was on the first floor of the building. After dodging down many hallways, she came to the scanning room. She took a breath to steady herself. After she'd done that, she pushed open the door and walked in.

The scanning room really wasn't anything special. All it really had were dozens of computers and a few odd machines, as well as an overhead projector in order to display important info. The room was currently vacant, minus the two scientists that stood at one of the large computers.

Dr. Matsurba was reading through various strands of Zero's code while speaking to Dr. Hikari about different theories regarding the navi's split personality. Dr. Hikari looked to be trying to understand what he was saying, but he couldn't make heads or tails of the information.

Lyra walked up behind them. "Is Zero gonna be okay Gramps?"

"Lyra?" the scientist asked as he turned his chair around, "What are you doing here?"

"I heard from Lee and the others that you brought Zero in this morning. But back to my original question: Will he be alright?"

The doctor sighed. "That all depends on him. He's hurting right now and I'm afraid that we can't do anything to help."

Lyra let out a depressed sigh and Dr. Hikari massaged his forehead. "I thought we addressed_ him_ when we revived Zero."

"I thought so too Hikari."

Lyra felt confusion ripple through her at their statements. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Who's him? It's obvious that you're not talking about Zero!"

Dr. Matsurba sighed. "Yes, it's true that we are no longer referring to Zero. The one we're talking about is Zero's darker personality, the God of Destruction, otherwise known as Omega. Omega's consciousness was created by Dr. Weil 400 years ago, but we suspect that when Zero and Omega last fought, part of his personality merged with Zero's after he came into contact with the Maverick Virus again. Therefore, it created a sort of split personality disorder in Zero. We thought Zero had sealed Omega inside of him permanently during his revival, but now we think that if Zero suffers from too many negative emotions, such as anger and rage, Omega can take over his body; the upside to this is that we believe he can only do this for only short periods of time. For the moment, it appears Zero is just recovering from a lack of internal power. Now that I think about it, it might be better to jack him into his reploid body so that we can speed up the process."

Lyra nodded. "Alright, but how are we going to prevent Omega from taking over Zero's body again?"

Dr. Hikari answered this time. "We're unsure presently. The best you can do is make sure Zero doesn't get too aggravated with anyone. This should hold omega off since it'll prevent him from finding a breach in his seal, but this is only a temporary measure. If he's awaked once already, then there's no reason why he wouldn't do so again and try to force his way free of Zero's body."

Lyra sighed as she watched her grandfather jack her navi into his reploid body, which was placed on a sort of table on the left side of the room. She turned and left the building, deciding that Zero would need a few days to recharge.

* * *

Two days later, Lyra was back at SciLab again. She had pulled up a chair and plopped down next to him. She grabbed his hand in worry. Her grandfather walked up behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with a saddened expression before looking back to her navi.

She'd heard from Lan and the others that some evil organization called Grave had popped up after she and Zero had fought Grave. Not only was the organization wreaking havoc all over the cyber world, but now they had a monster called the Grave Virus Beast to do their bidding. It absorbed everything it came across, including netnavis. Lyra herself felt irritated since she couldn't help out. It was just like the Pharaohman incident.

After a few minutes of milling over her thoughts, Lyra saw Zero twitch. His eyes opened up and he turned his head to see his netop looking at him with a concerned look on her face. He smiled at her in an attempt to cheer her up.

"Hey, why are you so down?" he asked as he sat up.

Lyra looked annoyed with him, but her tone of voice said otherwise. "You baka! You just about scared me to death!"

Zero's eyes widened. "Did you just call me a fool in Japanese?"

Lyra, realizing that she had used Japanese language, blushed. "I don't know a lot of Japanese. Just a few basic words."

"Oh."

"Well," she said, "we should be getting home. Gramps was headed back anyways, so we're riding with him."

She began to walk away. Zero hopped up and followed after her. As he walked by her side, he noticed that she was avoiding making eye contact with him.

_I guess I really scared her. _He thought bitterly. Seeing no better time than the present, he spoke. "I'm sorry Lyra."

His netop looked at him in surprise. "What do you have to be sorry for?"

"I'm sorry I became Omega in front of you. You didn't need to see that side of me, let alone know it existed. And for that, I'm sorry."

His response was a punch to the shoulder.

"You thick-headed tin can, you shouldn't apologizing about that!" Lyra snapped, "That wasn't your fault. Omega took advantage of your negative emotions and used them to free himself! You shouldn't blame yourself."

Zero, while surprised at her outburst, smiled. "Thanks Lyra."

She smiled in return. "You're welcome."

"Come on you two!" her grandfather called from his place down the hallway, "We don't have all day!"

At those words, Lyra and Zero broke into a sprint and followed Lyra's grandfather out to the parking lot.

* * *

Meanwhile, hidden in the shadows of a building, a tall figure chuckled maliciously. He had long, pale blond hair that ended with purple tips. He wore a long sort of coat that covered his whole body. The coat had a stylized red G on it.

"It's finally complete… the grave virus beast…"

A figure in a wheel chair rolled up behind him. "Don't forget Kid Grave, I was the one who created this marvelous beast."

"Of course…Mr. Wily…"

* * *

Back with Lyra, she and Zero had gotten home only a few minutes ago. The two had only just walked into the house when they heard someone knocking at her door. Her grandfather went to answer while she and Zero hid upstairs. Dr. Matsurba came back upstairs a few seconds later.

"It's Yai," he began, "She needs your help with something."

Lyra nodded and looked to Zero. "Sorry, but we're going to have to jack you out sooner than we thought Zero."

Zero nodded in response as she jacked him out of his reploid body. She side-stepped as the now empty husk collapsed limply to the floor. Lyra managed to drag it to her room before she headed downstairs. Yai stood in the doorway, tapping her foot on the ground due to impatience.

"What took you so long? We need to go!" she said.

"Sorry, I had to help Sam with something out back. Anyhow, let's go!" Lyra said.

The two girls then raced out of the house and into Yai's helicopter, which was parked on the street. Lyra had to admit that while that was totally awesome, it was probably overkill.

As the helicopter blades began to spin, Lyra saw fit ask about the present situation.

"So what's going on? It has to be important or else a helicopter wouldn't be necessary," Lyra inquired.

Lan answered. "Megaman was taken from Net City by Bass."

"Bass?!" Lyra and Zero exclaimed in unison.

"Darn it! I knew letting him get away was a bad idea!" Zero yelled in frustration.

"Zero, you were knocked out at the time. You wouldn't have been able to do anything to stop him. Plus, you gave him more than enough damage to serve as a valid warning," Lyra soothed.

"But still!"

"Oh just get over yourself. He's got Megaman, end of story. We're going to get him back and once we do, then you can give Bass the beating of a lifetime. Sound good?" Lyra smirked.

"Fine. So long as I get to beat up Bass, I'll settle for just about anything," Zero huffed.

As Lyra took in her surroundings, she noticed World Three among the people in the helicopter. She immediately began to growl.

"What is World Three doing here?!" she roared angrily. She attempted to chare at them, but she had apparently forgotten about her seat straps, so her back collided with the seat with a solid thump.

"Easy girl. We're in the curry business now," Maddy explained.

Lyra felt herself become confused. "Curry? Really?"

"Yes," Yahoot began, "Ever since Mr. Wily disappeared, we've quit World Three and started a curry shop of our own. Please try to understand, we mean you no harm and I sincerely apologize for our actions towards you."

Lyra blinked. "Apology accepted, but don't expect me to trust you straight away. Dr. Wily tried to kidnap me and my siblings before, so don't expect much out of me."

Yahoot nodded sagely. "I understand. But please know that we had no idea that Mr. Wily intended to kidnap you, nor did he even tell us."

"I see."

"We're almost there," the pilot said.

Lyra looked out her window. On the ground, a large crater-like thing was exposed. But the closer she looked, the more she realized that it was a collapsed underground base. It was formerly World Three's base of operations. Lyra simply observed as the helicopter set down on the ground. One by one, the group exited the aircraft and began walking down into the ruined base.

As they walked throught the deserted hallways and corridors, Count Zap spoke.

"See? This place is deserted," he said.

Maddy sigh as she reminisced. "We sure had some fun here. Ugh, it just breaks my heart to see it like this."

"It's such a shame," Yahoot added.

As they continued to walk, Lyra brought out her PET. "What do you make of it Zero?"

"It's strange, but somehow it doesn't seem too out of character for Wily. I'd say that that Pharaohman was the one who did this after he was captured," Zero answered darkly.

Lyra nodded in agreement. "I definitely think you're on to something Zero. There's something strange about this place, but I can't put my finger on it."

As the group stopped in a rather large room, Lan let out a small humph of curiosity.

Then Maddy spoke. "Hey. That's strange."

Lan walked over to where the group had gathered by a computer. "That computer?"

"There's a program running in it. See?" Maddy said once she'd gotten a closer look at the machine.

Gently, Yahoot pressed the on button and jacked in Magicman. "I know what you're thinking," he said due to the suspicious looks he was getting from Lyra and the others, "but somebody else reactivated this machine, not us."

"Wait, what kind of program?" Count Zap asked after a brief moment.

"That's for later," Tory interrupted, "Now, let's get Megaman back! Everyone ready?"

"You ready Zero?" Lyra asked.

"Yeah," the red navi replied.

"Jack in!" Tory, Yai, Dex, Maylu, and Lyra cried in unison.

Zero, Roll, Glyde, Gutsman, Icemen, and Rush appeared on the net.

"Jack in!"

In a split second, another wave of navis came in. They were Magicman, Elecman, and Wackoman.

"Not you!" Gutsman growled.

"It's cool," Elecman soothed.

"We want to help too!" Wackoman said.

Zero was silent during the whole affair. He didn't mind extra help; all he wanted to do was get back at Bass.

"Well, for now we'll call a truce," Glyde stated hesitantly.

"The place isn't exactly how we left it. Someone redecorated!" Magicman cried.

"Let's go," Roll said impatiently.

The group then separated in order to cover more ground. But unlike the others, Zero knew precisely what to look for if they wanted to find Bass. Bass had a particular energy signature since he was different from other netnavis, so tracking him would be a piece of cake. Silently, Zero closed his eyes and focused as he tried to locate Bass. His sensors indicated that Bass was behind him a ways. The red navi turned around and stared off into the distance.

He then turned back towards the fleeting figures of his allies. "Hey guys I found him!" he yelled.

"Really?!" Roll exclaimed as she ran over.

Zero nodded. He pointed to the area where he was getting the strange readings. "He's that way."

The group gathered and nodded. They then ran in the area Zero indicated to with the red navi leading. The red navi was about growling at this point.

_I am going to absolutely murder Bass once I find him…wait, that sounds more like Omega, not me. I've got to stay in control. _He thought to himself.

As the group got closer, they saw a black figure standing by a slab of broken debris. As they had continued forward, the area had looked more wrecked than everything else. On the rock slab, a blue figure was laying down in a daze.

_Megaman. _Zero guessed.

As they came within twenty feet of the black navi, Roll charged forward.

"Megaman!" she cried in worry.

Bass turned as the rest of their group ran up.

"You're the netnavi called Bass I presume?" Elecman inquired.

"What have you done to Megaman?" Glyde demanded.

Surprisingly, Bass answered their questions. "I've finished with your Megaman, that's what I've done. Take him," he paused as he glowed with yellow light, "At last…I have the final piece of the puzzle."

Bass disappeared as the light became too bright. When it faded, the group noticed that Bass was no longer there.

"Bass!" Zero roared. He then turned to his netop, "Send me after him Lyra! I have a score to settle with him!"

"Alright, but don't get too angry. You know what Gramps said about Omega. Be careful with your emotions," Lyra warned him.

Zero nodded in acknowledgement and disappeared, leaving the rest to his friends.

* * *

While Lyra and Zero went to handle Bass and the virus Beast, new came that not only had Protoman been deleted, but that Mr. Gauss was behind the disappearances of the netnavis. As such, Lan and his team had gone to combat them.

In Net City, Zero arrived to find the place not only desolate, but about half deleted. As he looked out over the horizon, he noticed a huge dust cloud. He felt determination course through him and he began to leap from rooftop to rooftop as he headed over to it. When he arrived, he found the Virus Beast lying on the ground defeated. Bass hovered above it with a smirk on his face.

"Bass!" Zero yelled.

The black navi turned to the red navi. "Zero, I can't say I'm surprised. I take it you came here to settle the score?"

"Of course I did! I finish what I start!" he yelled back.

"Well, you'll have to wait one moment," Bass turned to the virus beast and held out his right hand, "Now, become one with me."

The Virus Beast began to shatter as Strands of data were pulled from it and absorbed by Bass. Zero stood dumbfounded off to the side. The red hero had found himself frozen to his spot. He wasn't exactly sure of what to make of this development at all.

After a few seconds, the beast's data was fully absorbed by Bass. The black navi turned to Zero, but before he could act, pain shot through the black navi. He doubled over midair before data began to surge back out of his body. The data gathered on the ground and began to reform the Grave Virus Beast. After a few moments, Bass shattered into data and his cloak floated to the ground as he vanished. Then the cloak itself vanished, leaving no trace of the black navi.

* * *

Outside the cyber world, Lyra heard maniacal laughter being emitted from the computer.

"Wily, you rat! You knew this would happen!" Lan exclaimed in frustration.

_Wait, Wily? _Lyra thought as she glanced up at the upper monitor. Apparently, the young netop had been so absorbed in helping Zero that she failed to notice that Mr. Wily had been speaking to them the whole time. The man was alive.

Lyra felt unrestrained rage leap through her at the sight of the man. "Wily you bastard!"

The image looked down to regard her. "Well, if it isn't the renowned Lyra Matsurba. How have you been my dear?"

"Stop screwing around with me Wily! I know you killed my parents and boyfriend! But why, why would you do something like that?! Answer me you scumbag!" she roared at the screen in anger.

Around her, everyone had gone silent. They knew Lyra despised Wily, but they hadn't expected her to cuss him out. Especially since she had an anti-cussing policy. Even Zero, her netnavi, hadn't expected her to act like that.

"My, what a foul mouth you have! But to answer your question, I did it because I needed your navi's power at the time. But now that I have the Virus Beast, Zero has become obsolete! I no longer need either of you!" the mad doctor.

"Wily you sick bastard! You won't get away with this!" she screamed at the screen. But sadly, the scientist didn't hear her since the transmission had been cut. Lyra, with her rage exhausted, collapsed to the ground in tears. Maylu patted her back in reassurance, but nothing seemed to console her.

From the net, Zero let out a sad sigh. "Lan, can you jack me out please? Lyra's in no condition to battle."

"Yeah," the boy answered.

After a moment, the extended jack in cable had retracted into Lyra's PET, which Lyra held numbly. Zero looked up at her with a saddened expression on his face. No person should have to go through the kind of psychological pain that Lyra was.

Time passed by rather quickly for Lyra from then on, with the odd thought every now and again. Like when Elecman was deleted. Or when they got into the helicopter to go to the Aiyano mansion. Or even when Megaman went into bug mode and defeated the Virus Beast. But other than those few moments, Lyra had gone completely deadpan.

During the walk home, Lyra was slightly more cheery than before. She was no longer deadpan, but she still looked really sad.

Zero, for the first time in some three hours spoke. "Lyra, are you doing any better than before?"

The young Matsurba nodded. "Yeah, but it still hurts like hell."

Zero bowed his head in understanding. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you to take me to Net City back there you might've been able to avoid-"

"I wouldn't have been able to avoid seeing that man Zero."

"Huh?" the red navi wondered in confusion.

"After I came to, the others informed me that they'd seen Mr. Wily right after they broke into Mr. Gauss's security system. I would've ended up like this either way. You don't need to apologize for the inevitable," Lyra explained.

She stopped for a second and turned to the west. The sun was setting, turning the sky into a painting made of many, pinks, reds, oranges, blues, and even violets. In the darker areas of the sky, she could see the stars and moon.

"Zero, one day, I will make my deceased loved ones proud. I can't give up on what I have now, not when I still have a life to live," she said as she gazed at the ever-darkening sky. Zero smiled.

"I was hoping you'd say that, but I think you've already made them more than proud Lyra."

"You really think so?"

"Yeah. Now c'mon, my reploid body isn't gonna activate itself!" the red navi egged her on.

She instantly sweat dropped. "Oh yeah, I left it in the hallway didn't I? Sorry Zero!"

"Sorry won't cut it! Now let's go already!"

"Alright, Alright. I'm going! Don't rush me!"

* * *

**Eclipse: And done! I hope you guy have enjoyed this story!**

**Lyra: Don't worry, we're not done yet! After the epilogue, Eclipse will be posting the next part of the Zero saga, so keep an eye out for MMZS 2: Lurking Shadows!**

**Eclipse: Yeah! As usual, please review or PM me your thoughts. Like I said before, I hope you guys have enjoyed this story!**


	17. Epilogue

**Eclipse: Hey, I'm back with the epilogue now. Don't expect this to be a real long chapter, this is more of a preview to the next part of the Zero Saga.**

**Lyra: As usual, Eclipse2012 doesn't own Megaman in any way shape or form, though he does own her OCs, so without further ado, here is the epilogue!**

**Epilogue**

"How's it coming with that chip Hikari?" Dr. Matsurba asked his compatriot from his workplace.

"Progress is great Nathaniel. Just a little while longer and we'll be able to begin testing it!" Lan's father replied.

"That's the best news I've heard today! How much longer do you think it'll take Hikari?" Lyra's grandfather asked.

"Maybe a week or two. I'm not exactly sure."

"I see. I hate to swap over to a drearier subject, but what are we going to do about Omega? Surely there's something we can do."

"I'm not sure Nathaniel. From what you told me, it's going to be up to Zero and Lyra to contain him."

Dr. Matsurba frowned. "Be that as it may, is this "Cross-Fusion" going to endanger them any more than now?"

"I don't know. We've haven't even gotten to the testing stage yet. Sure, we can materialize data into the real world, but there's no guarantees as to what side affects it'll have on normal people. And then there's still the issue of the Dimensional Area prototype. It's not even done yet. I don't think we'll have to worry any time soon Nathaniel," Dr. Hikari replied.

The younger scientist looked down at what Dr. Matsurba was working on. "heh, your still working on reviving more navis Nathaniel? Don't you think we have enough already?"

Dr. Matsurba smiled. "Yes, but Lee has yet to receive one. The one I'm working on is for him."

"What about Elizabeth?"

"Still working on it."

As the doctors continued talking, they were unaware of a strange symbol flickering to life on one of the computer screens. The bottom part looked like a capital W linked to a circle. The symbol was only there for a moment, but it disappeared, leaving no evidence behind that it was ever there.

**Eclipse: I know, it's short, but it's just a preview to what's coming next. Anyhow, this story is now complete. ?The next installment should be up sometime soon, so please wait just a bit longer! Anyhow, Eclipse logging out! Bye!**


End file.
